In: Nursing
Frances Johnson is a 31-year-old woman who presents to her healthcare provider with mild shortness of breath and a non-productive cough, worse at night. Her symptoms deteriorated slightly with a cold several weeks previously and have not improved. She also complains of itchy eyes, sneezing and persistent blockage of her nose. She was diagnosed with asthma at the age of 12 and given a blue and a brown inhaler. She remembers undergoing skin prick testing, which was positive for house dust mite allergy. Her asthma was not a problem until the last few years when she restarted inhaled salbutamol. She now needs this 3–4 times per day to help her breathing. She does not measure her peak flow rates as she has lost her peak flow meter but remembers her best was around 400 L/min.
On examination: She is speaking in full sentences Respiratory rate is 20 breaths/min. Pulse rate is 90 beats/min. Her peak expiratory fl ow rate (PEFR) is 320 L/min (best 400 L/min.) She has a mild expiratory wheeze to hear on auscultation of her chest.
Assess the patients peak flow
Assess for breath sound
Aseess the level of oxygen saturation in her blood
monitor patients vital signs
Assess the patients respiratory status by the severity of symptoms
along with these informations,
we should collect the history of the patient,including allergies,first asthma attack,medication,any other respiratory probelms,medication allergies these all information needed for complete her assessment.
above information her respiratory rate is normal only it is 20 breaths per min and the peak flow rate is some what normal,by these we can identify she have only mild asthma.
The main aims of asthma treatment are, prevent chronic symptoms that affects the daily living,such as shortness of breath,cough,maintain lung function normally.
The best treatment measure for control asthma in now a days is inhaler therapy,we can use bronchodialators,or steroid antiinflammatory medication for effective treatment of asthma.
plz give a thums up