2.7.1 What is a peak flow meter
A Peak flow meter is a medical device that measures how well your lungs are able to expel air [2.1]. By blowing rough a mouthpiece a peak expiatory flow (PEF) reading can be found. This reading is measured in litres per minute and can be read directly from the device. When the person’s airways are more closed the lower the rate in which air can be blown out. The peak flow meters are used as a simple and efficient way of monitoring how well your lungs are and see if there functioning properly.
2.7.2 Why use peak flow meters
Peak flow meters allow someone to monitor if there are any changes in their lung function and breathing. People with asthma or other lung diseases use peak flow meters. They can take their PEF reading twice a day independently at home, although young children need supervision while taking their peak flow. Using a peak flow meter daily allows people to track the control of their lung disfunction and it shows if treatment is working correctly. Taking a peak flow reading also allows the user to recognise signs of their lungs flaring up before symptoms appear. The user will know when to call their doctor for emergency care.
2.7.3 Types of peak flow meters
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The low range peak flow meter and the standard range peak flow meter [2.2]. The low range peak flow meter is used for children up to nine years old and is also used for adults with severe lung diseases. These people’s airways would be much smaller so the actual device has to differ slightly. The standard range peak flow meter would be used by older children, teenagers and adults. Since adults therefore have larger airways it is essential that your doctor provides the more suitable device for each
Both tests are very useful for assessing the pulmonary and cardiac system health of the individual being examined. This involves examining the individual’s response to the test by assessing their BP, HR, oxygen intake abilities, and using this information to infer whether they have some type of internal impairment. This includes
The respirometer uses the principle of water displacement. As the amount of gas in the respirometer changes, this will be reflected by an equivalent displacement of water in the pipette. Remember that at the same temperature and pressure,...
Blood pressure is measured by mmHg (millimetres of mercury) and it is written as two numbers. The first number is the highest pressure that the heart reaches in beats and the second number is the lowest blood pressure reached between the heart beats. A normal blood pressure level in adults is blood pressure less than 120/80 but for someone with CKD; high blood pressure is if it is 130/80.
...roduces more blood lactate that it can reabsorb. At this point ventilation increases exponentially. The goal with lactate threshold training is to raise your threshold point to as close as possible to your maximum heart rate, and improve your ability to withstand that discomfort” (Messonnier, 2013). This concept was depicted by the trained participant. As stated in the introduction and discussion sections and depicted throughout the graphs one can conclude that the trained participant was in fact more fit and could consume more oxygen than the untrained participant.
It determines how well your heart pumps with each beat by measuring the percentage of blood leaving your heart
The second intervention to improve gas exchange related to ineffective airway clearance is the use of a positive expiratory pressure device (PEP). PEP devices work by providing constant backwards pressure on the airways during expiration.
Diagnosis include a pulmonary function test, a test which helps measure the lungs ability to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide. This type of test is performed with a special machine called spirometry (Mayo Clinic, 2011). A spirometry determines how well the lungs intake, hold, and utilize the air and can even detect the severity of lung disease and determine whether the disease has decreased airflow or a disruption of airflow has occurred. Another device used is a peak flow monitor (PFM). A device that measures the speed at which an individual can blow air out of lungs (Mayo Clinic, 2011). A doctor can diagnose a patient with symptoms that correspond to emphysema, such as a cough that doesn’t go away, coughing up a large sum of mucus, shor...
Nocturnal polysomnography involves using equipment that monitors the heart, lung and brain activity, breathing patterns, movement of arm and leg, and blood oxygen levels while you sleep. A doctor may also provide a simplified test that can be used at home. These tests involve measuring heart rate, blood oxygen, and breathing patterns. The test results will show drops in oxygen levels during apneas. Individuals with obstructive sleep apnea may be referred you to an ear, nose and throat specialist to determine if there is a blockage in the nose or throat. For milder cases, a doctor may recommend lifestyle changes, such as losing weight or quitting
...nt for early detection of different diseases. Although they have been somewhat effective in the past, they need to be updated and improved so a wider range of diseases can be detected. Among these checkups, an emphasis should be made on checking for congenital heart defects, especially those who are hard to detect. This should be a priority because a baby with a CCHD could be at risk in the future. Furthermore, children who have a heart disease such as Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome are at greater risk. In these cases, early detection is key for eliminating this types of conditions. This way an appropriate treatment can be given at a younger age and a more permanent solution can be offered to eliminate the condition such as surgery. If the root of these types of diseases can be eliminated now, future generations can have a better healthy life quality and assurance.
Physicians typically diagnose asthma by looking for the classic symptoms: episodic problems with breathing that include wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath. When symptoms alone fail to establish a diagnosis of asthma, doctors may use spirometry, a test that measures airflow. By comparing a patient’s normal airflow, airflow during an attack, and airflow after the application of asthma medication, doctors determine whether the medicine improves the patient’s breathing problems. If asthma medication helps, doctors usually diagnose the condition as asthma.
A diagnosis is the first step in coming terms with effective asthma treatments. One way to test for asthma is a physical exam, which is where health professionals ask questions about signs and symptoms, and other possible health issues. Lung function tests can determine the amount of air that moves in and out as you breathe. (Mayo Clinic) Spirometry is another process that estimates the narrowing of bronchial tubes by checking how much air an individual can exhale after a deep breath and how fast the patient breathes out. Peak flow meters are a common test procedure for asthma.1 The peak flow meter is a device that measures how hard you breathe out or exhale. Lower readings on the meter shows a diminished lung capacity resulting in less effective breathing. It is generally a strong signal that an individual's asthma may be getting worse.2 These measurements are taken again after the use of bronchodilators such as Albuterol to open your airways. If the inhaler impr...
chamber used as a control will be used to measure any changes due to air
Ascertaining the adequacy of gaseous exchange is the major purpose of the respiratory assessment. The components of respiratory assessment comprises of rate, rhythm, quality of breathing, degree of effort, cough, skin colour, deformities and mental status (Moore, 2007). RR is a primary indicator among other components that assists health professionals to record the baseline findings of current ventilatory functions and to identify physiological respiratory deterioration. For instance, increased RR (tachypnoea) and tidal volume indicate the body’s attempt to correct hypoxaemia and hypercapnia (Cretikos, Bellomo, Hillman, Chen, Finfer, & Flabouris, 2008). The inclusive use of a respiratory assessment on a patient could lead to numerous potential benefits. Firstly, initial findings of respiratory assessment reveals baseline data of patient’s respiratory functions. Secondly, if the patient is on respiratory medication such as salbutamol and ipratropium bromide, the respiratory assessment enables nurses to measure the effectiveness of medications and patient’s compliance towards those medications (Cretikos, Bellomo, Hillman, Chen, Finfer, & Flabouris, 2008). Thirdly, it facilitates early identification of respiratory complications and it has the potential to reduce the risk of significant clinical
During emissions testing, the analyzer will take pre and post span and zero reads to ensure the analyzer is taking accurate readings, where the bottled gas would fill the lines (span) and deplete the lines (zero). The zero reading confirms that there are no leaks in the system by emptying the line and meeting pressure regulations and ppm readings on the line. The span gas is flowed through the line and must be a stable pressurized flow as well as be within a set limit of ppm in order to get consistently accurate readings.
There are 2 types of breathing, costal and diaphragmatic breathing (Berman, 2015). Costal refers to the intercostal and accessory muscles while diaphragmatic refers to breathing using your diaphragm (Berman, 2015).It is important to understand the two different types of breathing because it is vital in the assessment of the patient. For example, if a patient is suing their accessory muscles to aid in breathing then we can safely assume that they are having breathing problems and use a focused assessment of their respiration. Assessing respiration is fairly straightforward. The patient’s respiration rate can be affected by anxiety so a useful to avoid this is to check pulse first and after you have finished that, while still holding their pulse point, check their respiration rate. Inconspicuous assessment avoids the patient changing their breathing because they know they are being assessed which patients can sometimes do subconsciously. Through textbooks and practical classes I have learned what to be aware of while assessing a patient’s respiratory rate. For example; their normal breathing pattern, if and how their health problems are affecting their breathing, any medications that could affect their respiratory rate and also the rate, depth, rhythm and quality of their breathing (Berman, 2015). The only problem I found while assessing respiration rate was I thought it seemed a bit invasive looking at the