Help the development of the site, sharing the article with friends!

Atelectasis is a condition in which the lung does not fill with sufficient air. The part of the lung affected by atelectasis is not involved in breathing. This can lead to shortness of breath, heart problems and even death. How is atelectasis diagnosed and what is the treatment for this disease?

Niedodma , otherwiselung collapse( atelectasis ) is a state of reduced lung aeration. It can involve a smaller or larger part of the lung, or even an entire organ. It consists in the fact that the walls of the alveoli stick together due to the lack of air access.

Most often, the cause of this situation is the deterioration of airflow through the bronchi caused by residual mucus, foreign body or a tumor. The narrowing of the bronchial lumen may also occur as a result of an external injury or pressure, e.g. by enlarged lymph nodes, tumors, fluid or air in the pleural cavity. Another cause of atelectasis may be pulmonary embolism, which leads, among others, to for reduced release of surfactan, a surfactant. Its task is to prevent the collapse of the alveoli.

There is another type of atelectasis, much less frequent -primary atelectasis . It is caused by a deficiency of the aforementioned surfactant. It mainly concerns newborns (then we are talking about the vitreous syndrome, or neonatal respiratory distress syndrome), and adults with severe respiratory failure.

To sum up, atelectasis can be divided into two basic types: obstructive - bronchial obstruction, and non-obstructive - compression.

Causes of obstructive atelectasis

  • residual mucus in the respiratory tract - such a situation occurs in patients with cystic fibrosis, after medical procedures, who were administered drugs that weaken the activity of the respiratory muscles (when the cough reflex is weakened, mucus build-up may block the respiratory tract), in newborns, especially premature babies, with surfactate deficiency
  • a foreign body in the bronchus - this mainly applies to children who take various objects into their mouths - they may choke, and a small element may be sucked into the respiratory tract, adults rather choke on food
  • chest injury - when blood enters the lung

Causes of non-obstructive atelectasis

  • system diseasesrespiratory system - cancerous tumors, but also frequent pneumonia - they cause scarring, and thus reduce their cross-section
  • appearance of air (pneumothorax) or fluid in the pleural cavity - this puts pressure on the lungs

Symptoms of atelectasis

  • shallow, rapid breathing
  • cough
  • feeling short of breath
  • accelerated heart rate
  • cyanosis, caused by hypoxia
  • chest pain
  • anxiety
  • decreased body temperature
  • damage to lung tissue, scarring

When atelectasis affects a small part of the lung, it may be asymptomatic. Such a small atelectasis often passes by itself without treatment. On the other hand, when the collapse takes up most of the organ, the symptoms can be very severe, sometimes it can even lead to lung failure - and at the same time, the he althy lung may hyperventilate.

Diagnosis of atelectasis

Atelectasis is already diagnosed during standard auscultation. The physician should pay attention to crackles in the lungs and to mute areas. Suppression of the percussion sound can also indicate a collapse of the lung. Sometimes you can even see atelect. During deep inhalation, the patient's chest fills asymmetrically - the side affected by atelectasis expands less.

Additional, and at the same time decisive, tests are chest X-ray (X-ray) - the picture shows shading of some area of ​​the lungs - and computed tomography (CT) of the lungs, which is especially useful in detecting the cause of atelectasis. It can picture e.g. a tumor or enlarged lymph nodes.

Treatment of atelectasis

The selection of the appropriate therapy results from the diagnosis. The goal of treatment is, of course, to get the lungs back into working order - to make the collapsed parenchyma function properly. However, the path to this condition may be completely different for each patient.

If atelectasis is due to pneumonia, an antibiotic will help, but if it is caused by an oppressive tumor, surgery may be necessary to remove the lesion itself, or with a fragment or even the entire lung. If, on the other hand, the cause of atelectasis is a stuck foreign body, it should be removed by bronchoscopy. It is done by inserting a thin tubular apparatus into the airways. Supportive treatment consists in administering:

  • oxygen for breathing difficulties and for optimal blood oxygenation
  • drugs to widen the airways and reduce the production of secretions
  • expectorant drugs

AdditionallyChest slapping and breathing exercises can be introduced.

  • Interstitial pneumonia - symptoms, causes, treatment
  • Pleural hematoma: causes, symptoms, treatment
  • Lung abscess - causes, symptoms, treatment

Help the development of the site, sharing the article with friends!

Category:

Other