Emphysema - Medtick
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Emphysema

What is it?

A type of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) where the the narrowing airways can cause the air sacs (alveoli) responsible to take oxygen into the blood and carbon dioxide from the blood into the air breathed out becomes damaged (the fine mesh of capillaries in the alveoli becomes damaged) and are not working the way they should.

  • As a result the lungs don’t fully empty when breathing out and air becomes trapped causing breathing difficulties and eventually affecting the heart and the rest of the body.
  • The blood has lower levels of oxygen than it should and increased levels of carbon dioxide than it should.

Further damage can also occur:

  • The airways of healthy lungs have elastic properties, but in lungs that are repeatedly exposed to irritants, the airways lose their elasticity and become thickened and swollen.
  • This swelling means that the passageway for air becomes narrower.
  • If the same person also has chronic bronchitis (ongoing inflammation of the lining of the bronchial tubes), the mucus present can further contribute to narrowing of the air passages and clogging of the air sacs, further reducing their ability to function.
  • As the number of functional air sacs reduces, the number of capillaries servicing the damaged alveoli also gradually reduces.

Better Health channel

Emphysema characteristics include the following:

  • Patients may be very thin, with a barrel chest.
  • Patients typically have little or no cough or expectoration.
  • Breathing may be assisted by pursed lips and use of accessory respiratory muscles; patients may adopt the tripod sitting position.
  • The chest may be hyperresonant, and wheezing may be heard.
  • Heart sounds are very distant.
  • Overall appearance is more like that of a classic COPD exacerbation.

Medscape

Diagnosis test

The Pharmaceutical Journal, PJ October 2020, Vol 305, No 7942;305(7942):
DOI:10.1211/PJ.2020.20208431

verywellhealth

Oxygen Saturation test (via Oxygen level meter)

  • Oxygen saturation (SpO2) is an important diagnostic tool and measures the amount of haemoglobin-bound oxygen and free oxygen.
  • The partial pressure of arterial O2 (PaO2) is measured by arterial blood gas monitoring. In healthy individuals, SpO2 is usually >95%.
  • In patients with chronic lung disease or sleep apnoea, SpO2 can range between 88–92%.

McNicholas W, Kent, Mitchell. Hypoxemia in patients with COPD: cause, effects, and disease progression. COPD 2011;:199. doi:10.2147/copd.s10611

Cause

Symptoms

(Symptoms do vary depending on how serious the condition)

  • Persistent cough (cough is longer than three weeks)- (though not always)?
  • Wheezing?
  • Mucus and phlegm wet cough (not always)?
  • Tight chest?
  • Chest pain?
  • Short of breath and/or breathing difficulties?
  • Breathing may be assisted by pursed lips and use of accessory respiratory muscles; persons may adopt the tripod sitting position?
  • Early morning ‘smokers cough’?
  • Regular and reoccurring chest infections?
  • Chest sounds can be heards?
  • Distant heart beat sounds?
  • Irritated, stressed and/or anxious (due to limited on what one can do physically and emotionally)?
  • Low mood and depressed?
  • General discomfort (muscle weakness), uneasiness or ill feeling (malaise) and/or fatigue (tiredness)?
  • Barrel-shaped chest (trapped air)?
  • Bluish fingers and/or bluish lips (cyanosis) due to low oxygen levels in the blood?
  • Weight loss?

Complications /Information to beware of/General tips:

Medical Emergency  Condition

And/or do not wait, phone for an ambulance if have or develop:

  • Boerhaave syndrome
  • Collapsed lung – some lungs develop large air pockets (bullae), which may burst, resulting in lung deflation (also called pneumothorax), symptoms include:
    • Sharp stabbing pain on one side of the chest?
    • Pain is made worse by breathing in?
    • Difficulty breathing?
    • Dry cough?
    • Rapid heart rate?
    • Chest tightness?
    • Fatigue?
    • Bluish skin colour due to lack of oxygen?

This condition can lead to:

  • One can have ‘flare ups’ of this condition
  • Fast beating of the heart and arrhythmias especially if having a ‘flare up’ (compensatory mechanism for hypoxia or poor right heart ventricular function (in the setting of cor pulmonale).
  • Not able to exercise normally
  • Muscle wasting (low  muscle mass)
  • Pneumonia
  • Lung cancer
  • Heart problems – damaged alveoli, reduced number of capillaries and lower oxygen levels in the bloodstream may mean that the heart has to pump harder to move blood through the lungs. Over time, this can place considerable strain on the heart
  • Osteoporosis
  • Person may be very thin, with a barrel chest.

This condition may show similar symptoms to:

Please talk to your healthcare professional (i.e. Medical Doctor/Pharmacist) for further advice

Detailed Information

Please copy and paste any key words from the title: Emphysema in the following respective 'Medtick References and/or Sources' to find out more about the disease (this also may include diagnosis tests and generic medical treatments).

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