Chronic Lung Diseases

• Signs and symptoms of chronic lung disease in children:

  • Chronic cough > 3 weeks
  • Copious mucus secretion (productive cough)
  • Cough on feeding/history of choking
  • Recurrent or persistent noisy breathing (snoring, stridor or wheeze)
  • Dyspnoea, exercise intolerance
  • Recurrent and non-resolving lower respiratory tract infections (pneumonia, bronchiolitis)

  
• Non-acute lung diseases in pediatrics include asthma, tuberculosis, primary immune deficiencies, protracted bacterial bronchitis, bronchiectasis, and interstitial lung diseases

  
• Questions a doctor might ask a patient to diagnose a respiratory condition:

  • Duration, frequency, and quality of the patient's symptoms

  
• Symptoms associated with cystic fibrosis:

  • Associated symptoms: upper respiratory tract symptoms, fever, atopic diseases, gastrointestinal symptoms
  • Complication symptoms: affecting other functions, growth and development, edema cor pulmonale

  
• Signs of acute and chronic respiratory diseases:

  • Acute: increased work of breathing, noises
  • Chronic: chest deformity, scars

  
• Physical examination findings for hyperinflation:

  • Percussion: liver dullness below 6th Intercostal Space, decreased cardiac dullness, hyperresonance
  • Inspection: Hoover Sign, barrel chest, increased AP diameter
  • Palpation: weak apex beat, displaced trachea if unilateral hyperinflation

  
• Cor pulmonale is a condition where the heart is enlarged and weakened due to high blood pressure in the lungs, leading to symptoms like shortness of breath, fatigue, and leg swelling

  
• Signs and symptoms of chronic lung disease in children include cough, wheeze, and shortness of breath

  
• Respiratory diseases are grouped into categories like asthma, tuberculosis, primary immune deficiencies, protracted bacterial bronchitis, bronchiectasis, and interstitial lung diseases

  
• Symptoms associated with cystic fibrosis are divided into associated symptoms like runny nose and earache, and complication symptoms affecting functions like feeding, schooling, and mood

  
• Respiratory diseases categorized into asthma, tuberculosis, primary immune deficiencies, protracted bacterial bronchitis, bronchiectasis, and interstitial lung diseases

  
• Asthma management includes bronchodilators like short-acting beta agonists as relievers and inhalation corticosteroids as controllers
• For preschool wheezers, the Tucson Cohort study shows that they react with bronchoconstriction to viral infections like bronchiolitis
• Protracted Bacterial Bronchitis (PBB) is diagnosed by the presence of chronic wet cough, resolving after oral antibiotics, and specific sputum characteristics
• Bronchiectasis is characterized by permanent dilatation of damaged bronchi, leading to symptoms like chronic cough, halitosis, and signs like clubbing and chest deformities
• Management of bronchiectasis involves treating the underlying cause, facilitating airway clearance, optimizing nutrition, preventing deterioration, managing co-morbidities, and close follow-up