Patient education and prevention - Essay Example

Patient Education and Prevention 66 year of James is a patient of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who presents to the clinic with frequent exacerbation. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD is a devastating medical illness which causes a great degree of human suffering (Sharma, 2006). It is defined as "a disease state characterized by the presence of airflow obstruction due to chronic bronchitis or emphysema" (Sharma, 2006). There is no cure for COPD. However, the symptoms can be controlled effectively by prompt treatment and diligent follow-up.

One of the important strategies for prevention of acute exacerbations in a COPD patient like James is regular physiotherapy. It is very important for the nurse to educate the patient about the importance of physiotherapy because; education enhances active participation in health care, increases coping skills, enhances the understanding of the disease, assists in self-management and increases adherence to treatment plan (Neish and Hopp, 1988). According to the NICE guidelines (2004), physiotherapy must be instituted to reduce work of breathing associated with COPD, to restore the maximum function of the patient and to improve respiratory and peripheral muscle weakness.

There are many techniques in physiotherapy which help to manage breathlessness. Positioning of body, control of breathing, chest clearance, exercise training and chest physiotherapy are some of the methods which are commonly employed to reduce breathlessness in COPD patients. Breathing control techniques also help the patient cope with breathlessness. Adaptation of certain positions decreases oxygen consumption of the body and also increases ventilation-perfusion of the lungs, thus decreasing breathlessness.

Patients must be advised to choose a position that makes them feel comfortable. While adopting such a position, the arms must be relaxed and supported. Clearance of sputum is essential to decrease the risk of recurrent infections of the chest, to allow easy breathing during exertion and to reduce cough. Chest clearance is done using active cycles of breathing and must be preferably done after inhaler therapy (ATS, 2004). James has been a cooperative patient and the nurse was able to educate him about the importance of regular physiotherapy in decreasing exacerbations.

References American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society Task Force or ATS. (2004). Standards for the Diagnosis and Management of Patients with COPD. Retrieved from http://www.thoracic.org/go/copd NICE Guidelines. (2004). Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Retrieved from http://www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/pdf/CG012_niceguideline.pdf Neish, C.M., and Hopp, J.W. (1988). The role of education in pulmonary rehabilitation. J Cardiopulm Rehabil, 11, 439–441. Sharma, S. (2006). Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Emedicine from WebMD. Retrieved from http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/297664-overview