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 Patient with Respiratory Issue

Name

Institution

Course

Professor

Date
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 Patient with Respiratory Issue

Darla Thomas is most likely diagnosed with Asthma. According to the passage, the signs

and symptoms such as shortness of breath and chest tightness indicate a patient who has Asthma.

Furthermore, Darla is exposed to conditions closely related to Asthma, such as; smoking. Her

father had Asthma, bearing in mind that the disease runs strongly in families, and Darla’s

roommate had a cat (Stern et al., 2020). Exposure to these pathogenic conditions increases the

probability of Darla suffering from Asthma.

Smoking, having a cat, and drinking are the pathogenic mechanisms resulting in Darla’s

wheezing symptoms, shortness of breath, and chest tightness. Smoking affects the respiratory

system and causes respiratory symptoms such as dyspnea and attacks of breathlessness. Cats are

also significant sources of asthma triggers due to dead skin, urine, and saliva (Jartti et al., 2020).

Breathing in these allergens, therefore, triggers allergic reactions whose result is asthma

symptoms. Drinking also worsens Asthma symptoms.

According to the passage, Darla smokes and lives with a cat; therefore, I expect her test

results to show lung dysfunction. Smoking means that her lungs have been affected by cigarette

smoke which significantly affects the functionality of the human lungs (Jartti et al., 2020). Darla

also lives with a cat, exposing her to breath in allergens that cause lung allergic reactions. The

two pathogenic mechanisms are enough evidence to predict the results of the pulmonary function

test.

Managing all of the pathogenic mechanisms around Darla and feeding on a balanced diet

would be the best care plan for Darla’s case. The outcomes would be under the care plan, ease of

chest tightness, reduced wheezing, and minimal events of shortness of breath (Stern et al., 2020).
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To achieve these outcomes, Darla has to drink enough water, minimize dust around her, avoid

sprays, and encourage her to quit smoking.

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References

Stern, J., Pier, J., & Litonjua, A. A. (2020, February). Asthma epidemiology and risk factors.

In Seminars in immunopathology (Vol. 42, No. 1, pp. 5-15). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.

Jartti, T., Bønnelykke, K., Elenius, V., & Feleszko, W. (2020, February). Role of viruses in

Asthma. In Seminars in immunopathology (Vol. 42, No. 1, pp. 61-74). Springer Berlin

Heidelberg.