Respiratory Disease Clinical Features:
Major protective reflex mechanism – clears foreign bodies and mucous protects lungs.
Drugs used to treat cough – opioids (codeine, dextromethorphan); diphenhydramine
Common symptom or cardiac and respiratory disease
Can be due to:
• Obstruction of airflow (eg asthma; bronchitis; emphysema)
• Restricted chest expansion (eg ankylosing spondylitis; obesity; weakness of respiratory muscles;)
• Decreased pulmonary compliance (eg pulmonary oedema; fibrosis)
• Cardiac (eg congenital heart disease, chronic cardiac failure)
• Sudden (eg acute asthma; pneumothorax; pulmonary embolism; foreign body inhalation)
• Rapid (eg acute asthma; acute bronchitis; haemothorax; pulmonary oedema)
• Gradual (eg chronic asthma; pleural effusion; chronic bronchitis)
• Slow (eg emphysema, chronic bronchitis)
Amount, character, odour, taste, viscosity indicate possible cause
Blood is coughed up – due to bleeding from the respiratory tract.
Most commonly due to neoplasm, bronchiectaisis, acute bronchitis, pulmonary infarction, tuberculosis, acute left ventricular failure
Musical produced by air moving through narrowed bronchi – louder during expiration. Due to obstruction of airway.
Not to be confused with loud or laboured breathing.
If retrosternal or pleural indicates respiratory cause.
Occurs when lung function is inadequate for metabolic requirements
Commonly due to – severe acute asthma, exacerbation of COPD, left ventricular failure, pulmonary embolism, pneumonia
Measures functional lung capacity