Describe your patient who is having an acute bronchospasm, then select one other differential diagnosis to compare it with.
Bronchospasm is condition, characterized by a sudden constriction of the muscle of the bronchial walls, leading to a temporary narrowing of the bronchi. As a result of the bronchial muscle tightening and inflammation, individuals suffering from this condition will exhibit a variety of symptoms including productive cough with thick mucus production, wheezing, and shortness of breath.
Patient scenario 1
A 32 years old male patient, is scheduled to undergo an elective procedure. The patient has a PMHx of diabetes type II, asthma and is morbidly obese. The patient denies any previous adverse outcomes post anesthesia and has come to the clinic today for a required medical clearance . Upon entering the room, the ARNP noticed the patient has a persistent cough, is short of breath
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Pulse oximetry is a fast non invasive test that can help us determine the severity of the broncospasm, values below 90% requeres immidiate attention as is often an indication of a significant airway obstruction as a result of bronchia narrowing. Another, diagnostic tool is helpful to reach an accuarate diagnosis is peak expiratory flow, which is used to measure the air flow in and out of the lungs, taking into considaration the speed in which the air flow occurs in and out the lungs. During aacute bronchospasm episode the constriction in the bronchi casuses the movement of the air to be reduce. Imaging studies can also aid providers determine bronchispasm diagnosis, chest x rays for instance allow visualisation of the lung tisue parenchima and showing signs of infections such as pneumonia, or the presence of foring body that could be the cause of the patient acute