Pulmonary Disease Study Guide for Exam I

Note: Please do not consider this guide to be the absolute, all-inclusive map to your
first examination. Per many requests, I am putting this together in an effort to help
you focus your studies. Anything mentioned in class or the text is fair game for the
examination.
--CZ

Patient Evaluation
What is JVD and what is its relationship to pulmonary disease?
Understand tactile & vocal fremitus and when we may see each.
When are bronchial breath sounds a concern?
Hypoxia vs. hypoxemia: differentiate.
When do we see:
Digital clubbing
Cyanosis
Pursed-lip breathing
Be able to recognize significant positives in a patient history that may lead you
toward a particular diagnosis (example: If a patient is suffering from night sweats,
significant weight loss, hemoptysis, and lives in a homeless shelter, what might we
consider as a diagnosis?).

Chronic Bronchitis
What is the cause(s) of chronic bronchitis?
How does the disease present itself clinically? Lab results?
How do we treat the disease?
How is the disease diagnosed?

Emphysema
What is alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency? How is it different from emphysema?
Differentiate between obstructive and restrictive lung disease.
What is the cause(s) of emphysema?
How do we treat it? Can it be cured?

Asthma
Differentiate between intrinsic and extrinsic asthma.
What happens during an asthma attack (hint: 3 issues)?
How do we treat asthma?
What is the best thing we can do for our asthmatic patients?
What is the purpose of a peak-flow meter?
List some common triggers for extrinsic asthma.

Bronchiectasis
What is bronchiectasis?
What causes it?
How do we treat the disease?
Is bronchiectasis an obstructive or a restrictive disorder?

Cystic Fibrosis
What type of genetic disorder is CF?
Are there many variations of the disease?
How do we diagnose the disease?
How do we treat CF?
What are the more common bacteria that may colonize our CF patients?

Pneumonia
Is CPT necessary is uncomplicated pneumonia?
How do we diagnose pneumonia?
How do we treat it, and how is the treatment related to the diagnosis?

Lung Abscess
What is the relationship between lung abscess and aspiration?
How do we diagnose a lung abscess?
How do we treat it?
How does it appear on CXR/CT?

Tuberculosis
How do we diagnose TB?
How do we treat the disease?
Which patient populations are at increased risk of contracting TB?
What is a PPD?
What is the CBG?

Fungal Disease of the Lung

Which patient population(s) are at increased risk of contracting a pulmonary fungal
infection?
How do we diagnose and treat pulmonary fungal infections?
How would a patient with a pulmonary fungal infection present?