Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, referred to as COPD for short, is one of the most common respiratory diseases. The number of COPD patients among our compatriots exceeds 100 million. The main pathological change in this disease is that persistent airflow restriction leads to dysfunction of ventilation in the lungs. The control of COPD requires comprehensive measures from four dimensions, and imaging is an important method to assess the change of disease. Let's explain the main points to you now.
Pathological manifestations of COPD, mainly chronic bronchitis and emphysema. If the condition is not effectively controlled, it can lead to dyspnea in the patient, which eventually develops into respiratory failure, which is life-threatening. The main symptom of COPD is chronic cough, the initial course of the disease, only occasional cough, subsequently, cough symptoms gradually worsen, especially when getting up in the morning, coughing more frequently, some patients will have white mucus sputum, if the bronchitis acute attack, purulent sputum will appear. Shortness of breath and dyspnea are also common symptoms of COPD, the early stage is after activity or climbing stairs, symptoms appear, when the disease worsens, there will be difficulty breathing during rest, and even need to rely on oxygen to maintain respiratory function.
In patients with COPD, the main test in the past was lung function test, which can evaluate overall lung function, but it does not reflect structural changes in the lungs. In recent years, imaging methods have become increasingly abundant, and quantitative CT has begun to be widely used. Quantitative CT, or QCT for short, quantifies subtle changes in lung parenchyma and assesses the structure and function of the lung parenchyma and airway. This method is to apply software to quantitatively measure the lung parenchymal density and airway structure of the imaging technology, through multi-layer spiral CT scan, extract the images of lung tissue, trachea, blood vessels, establish a three-dimensional model of lung tissue, and measure various indicators. QCT can assess the severity and distribution of emphysema, make an early diagnosis, and at the same time, assess airway inflammation, and obtain data such as bronchial wall thickness, tracheal lumen area, and tracheal lumen diameter. In addition, QCT can also be used to evaluate for pulmonary vascular damage and understand the morphological changes in small blood vessels in the lungs. These objective data can accurately reflect the progression of COPD lesions.
To control the development of COPD, comprehensive measures need to be taken from 4 dimensions. The first dimension is the therapeutic measures, which are targeted according to the changes in the condition. For example, sputum is more and viscous, you need to use sputum drugs under the guidance of a doctor, if cough and sputum production worsen, fever, breath holding, wheezing, should be immediately sought medical attention. In addition, bronchodilators or hormone inhalers are used, depending on the condition. Patients with poor lung function can undergo home oxygen therapy under the guidance of a doctor, but patients should not choose their own oxygen flow.
The second dimension of measures to control the development of COPD is to strengthen care. Patients with COPD should be actively vaccinated to prevent infection. Quit smoking is a measure that COPD patients must take, at the same time, they must stay away from second-hand smoke, avoid crowded places, and when going out, it is best to wear a mask to reduce the impact of polluted air. Usually, you can drink warm boiled water in small quantities many times to keep your airway and throat moist. In addition, patients need to master the correct method of coughing up sputum, first inhale slowly, then hold their breath forcefully, and then contract their abs and rely on the force of air flow to cough up sputum.
The third dimension of control of the development of COPD is nutritional conditioning. Patients with COPD have decreased immune function, and the intake of nutrients should be increased to strengthen resistance to disease. It is recommended to increase the intake of high-quality protein, food can choose eggs, fish, chicken, nuts, etc., pay attention to nutritional balance, reasonable supplementation of vitamins and minerals, dietary arrangements, a small number of times, eat more fruits and vegetables, you can choose Sydney, tangerine peel, loquat and other cough and phlegm foods, eat less foods that are easy to cause flatulence, for example, spicy condiments. Stimulant drinks such as strong tea or coffee should be limited.
The measure to control the development of COPD in the fourth dimension is daily rehabilitation. Patients with COPD should actively exercise outdoors to enhance their physique. People with poor physical condition can choose to walk or tai chi and exercise continuously to avoid a rapid decline in lung function. People with COPD can try practicing breathing exercises, learning abdominal breathing or lip-constricting breathing, and if possible, using a breathing trainer. In addition, there is a detail, that is, pay attention to oral hygiene, and actively prevent and treat periodontitis, because studies in recent years have shown that periodontitis is closely related to the progression of COPD. Finally, we remind everyone that COPD needs early detection and early treatment, if relevant symptoms occur, lung function and QCT examination should be carried out in time, if confirmed as COPD, the course management should be strengthened, and comprehensive measures should be actively taken for targeted treatment and nursing.
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