Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The post bronchodilator test (Post BD), also commonly referred to as a reversibility test, is a test that utilizes spirometry to assess possible reversibility of bronchoconstriction in diseases such as asthma.
Bronchial hyperresponsiveness is a hallmark of asthma but also occurs frequently in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). [2] In the Lung Health Study, bronchial hyperresponsiveness was present in approximately two-thirds of patients with non-severe COPD, and this predicted lung function decline independently of other ...
Pulmonary function testing is a safe procedure; however, there is cause for concern regarding untoward reactions and the value of the test data should be weighed against potential hazards. Some complications include dizziness, shortness of breath, coughing, pneumothorax, and inducing an asthma attack.
The mechanisms behind allergic asthma—i.e., asthma resulting from an immune response to inhaled allergens—are the best understood of the causal factors. In both people with asthma and people who are free of the disease, inhaled allergens that find their way to the inner airways are ingested by a type of cell known as antigen-presenting ...
A small portion of people with asthma may benefit from regular peak flow monitoring. When monitoring is recommended, it is usually done in addition to reviewing asthma symptoms and frequency of reliever medication use. [2] When peak flow is being monitored regularly, the results may be recorded on a peak flow chart.
Sensitizer-induced occupational asthma is an immunologic form of asthma which occurs due to inhalation of specific substances (i.e., high-molecular-weight proteins from plants and animal origins, or low-molecular-weight agents that include chemicals, metals and wood dusts) and occurs after a latency period of several weeks to years. [1]
The peak expiratory flow can be measured at the bedside; in acute severe asthma, the flow is less than 50% of a person's normal or predicted flow. [6] Very severe acute asthma (termed "near-fatal" as there is an immediate risk to life) is characterised by a peak flow of less than 33% predicted, oxygen saturations below 92% or cyanosis (blue ...
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a type of respiratory failure characterized by rapid onset of widespread inflammation in the lungs. [1] Symptoms include shortness of breath (dyspnea), rapid breathing (tachypnea), and bluish skin coloration (cyanosis). [1]