need response to below DQ 150 words with 1 citation/ reference that's less than 5 years old apa format

Pascal-Milfort posted Jul 11, 2018 11:50 AM

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Dry Cough Case Study

The patient in question presents with the indications of headaches some of the follow-up questions that should be asked, include: do you experience allergies, asthma or any other related medical conditions? Have you suffered from a cold or the flu recently? Furthermore, I would ask if he smokes or spends time around people who smoke. Other important questions relevant to this condition are whether the patient has been exposed to air pollution such as excessive dust or fumes.

From the duration of a cough the patient has had it for approximately three months and therefore it can be categorized as a chronic cough (Chung & Pavord, 2008). The same regard the cough is dry and the severity increases in the evening. Frequent nasal congestion can be noted by the patient especially at times when he is exposed to a stimulus such as dust and cold weather (Chung & Pavord, 2008). The classification according to the duration would help in diagnosis since different coughs have distinct occurrences. As a result, the time frame of a cough can give important information regarding the nature of the cough.

To assist in the diagnosis of the cough several tests are required. This is important carefully differentiate between the almost similar types of a cough (Roda, Guihenneuc-Jouyaux, & Momas, 2013). One of the diagnostic tests to undertake is the physical exam where the patient is checked out for the symptoms of a cough. The clinician or the doctor, in this case, uses a stethoscope to listen to the lungs and identify if there are any wheezing sounds. Other diagnostic tests include the likes the examination of the mucus collected from the nose or the throat. This is the test that can be used to determine if the patient is suffering from a bacterial infection. A chest x-ray, on the other hand, can be taken to help diagnose the conditions such as pneumonia. Also, lung function tests can be conducted to measure the amount of air that s breathed in and out by the patient. This will give an indication of how well the lungs are operating. As such this is one of the useful tests that can be used to diagnose the conditions such as asthma. A sinus infection can be diagnosed by the use of a sinus x-ray.

Differential Diagnosis of the Cough

The differential diagnosis, in this case, entails two conditions. A post-viral cough and asthma induced cough. Both coughs share some characteristics such as persistence, the absence of phlegm, severity as well as the duration.

Post-Viral Cough

One of the differential diagnoses is that the patient could have been suffering from a post viral cough that lasts for approximately three months. The feature of this cough is that is dry marked with the absence of phlegm (Chung & Pavord, 2008). The dry hacking cough could have been due to a viral infection. The treatment of this type of a cough may entail cough medicines. Antitussives and expectorants are efficient in the treatment of this type of a cough.

Asthma Induced Cough

On the other hand, the cough can be described as asthma-induced cough. In this case, the cough is dry which could be as a result of cold or dry air (Morice, 2004). In some cases, air pollutants such as cigarette smoke dust and smoke may lead to the development of the persistent dry cough (Roda, Guihenneuc-Jouyaux, & Momas, 2013). Such pollutants are major allergens that may irritate the organs of the respiratory system (Chung & Pavord, 2008). Also, the cold weather could also be an irritant as shown by the increased severity of congestions and coughs in the evening and upon exposure to the cold weather. This is one of the characteristics that is used in the development of the definitive diagnosis as it differentiates asthma induce coughs and the other coughs (Morice, 2004). From the physical examination, the patient in question may be suffering from asthma-induced cough as shown by the tendency of having nasal congestions. Such a cough necessitates treatment with bronchodilators and in some cases antihistamine where the patients show signs of being allergic (Morice, 2004).

References

Morice, A. H. (2004). The diagnosis and management of chronic cough. European Respiratory Journal, 24(3), 481-492.

Chung, K. F., & Pavord, I. D. (2008). Prevalence, pathogenesis, and causes of chronic cough. The Lancet, 371(9621), 1364-1374.

Roda, C., Guihenneuc-Jouyaux, C., & Momas, I. (2013). Environmental triggers of nocturnal dry cough in infancy: New insights about chronic domestic exposure to formaldehyde in the PARIS birth cohort.