PHARMACOTHERAPY FOR RESPIRATORY DISORDERS

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): emphysema

Emphysema is a progressive and long –term disease that affects the lungs. Its primary cause is shortness of breath since the alveoli (the lung’s air sacs) are over inflated. Thus, patients suffering from emphysema have an impaired function of the gases exchange because the lung tissues are wearing out. Emphysema is among the COPD diseases due to the sowing of the airflow inhalations or sometimes stopped due to the alveoli over inflation that makes the exchange of gases not possible as the person is breathing.

 Drugs prescription

 It is not possible to cure Emphysema, but various treatments can help to slow its progress and relieve the symptoms. Medication prescription is as per the severity of the symptoms that a patient is experiencing. The drug Bronchodilators is for relieving shortness of breath, relieving cough and relaxing the airways constriction so as to solve the breathing problem. However Bronchodilators is not an effective drug for treating a patient with emphysema as compared to patients with chronic bronchitis or asthma (Kelly, Sternberg, Lescher, et al. 2012).

Corticosteroid is an inhaled steroid drug that is inhaled in the form of the spray to relieve breath shortness. The side effects of prolonged use of Corticosteroid causes increased the risk of diabetes, cataracts and high blood pressure (Drugs.com, 2012). It also weakens the bones. There is also the prescriptions of antibiotics in cases where the Emphysema condition happens with bacterial infections such pneumonia and acute bronchitis.

 The Therapies for Emphysema include nutritional therapy whereby the patient receives advice on the proper nutrition. A patient with emphysema has to lose weight. There is also the pulmonary rehabilitation therapy. The patient is taught breathing techniques and exercises as part of the pulmonary rehabilitation program. Finally, a patient can be prescribed the supplemental oxygen especially one with severe emphysema and has low oxygen levels (Arcangelo, & Peterson, 2013).

Age

            The aging process is a significant physiological, anatomical and psychology change with major impact in the management of obstructive respiratory diseases such as emphysema and asthma. Changes in the body that are age related are responsible for the differences of the bronchodilator drugs efficiency among the elderly population than the younger subjects. Furthermore, the frequent comorbidities and organs involution do interfere with the bronchodilators’ pharmacokinetics when used in treating emphysema. The use of bronchodilators which is a necessary treatment for individuals suffering from emphysema involves a major risk to the geriatric populations. Thus, its administration requires careful monitoring of these patients. Bronchodilators can affect the cardiac arrhythmia. Also, the use of concomitant medications such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug and beta blockers can worsen the broncho-constriction (National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, 2007).

 For the younger patients, the use of bronchodilators especially through the short-acting β2-agonists is most effective. It provides a rapid relaxation within a period of ten minutes through smoothing the bronchial muscles. Very young children using the Bronchodilators can sometimes feel shaky accompanied by an increased heart rate. They may sometimes become hyperactive, but the side effects decrease over time.

References

Arcangelo, V. P., & Peterson, A. M. (Eds.). (2013). Pharmacotherapeutics for Advanced Practice: A practical approach (3rd ed.). Ambler, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

 Drugs.com. (2012). 

National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. (2007). Expert panel report 3 (EPR3): Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of asthma.

 Kelly H, Sternberg A, Lescher R, et al. (2012). Effect of inhaled glucocorticoids in childhood on adult height. N Engl J Med 2012; 367:904.

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