Physical Assessment of Respiratory System Case Study

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Case Study 1

Primary Diagnosis: Viral Pneumonia

Pneumonia, in basic terms, leads to the inflammation of the lung’s air sacs. It could be caused by a wide range of organisms such as fungi, viruses, as well as bacteria. Some key symptoms of pneumonia, according to the American Lung Association (2018), include but they are not limited to: “cough, which may produce greenish, yellow or even bloody mucus; fever, sweating and shaking chills, shortness of breath; rapid, shallow breathing; sharp or stabbing chest pain; loss of appetite, low energy, and fatigue; nausea and vomiting; confusion.” The symptoms Patient X (a 35-year-old Asian male) presents are consistent with the early symptoms of viral pneumonia. This is more so the case in reference to the mild intermittent fever, productive cough, and occasional nausea and muscle pain. It is also important to note that during examination, one is likely to identify rales and rhonchi amongst patients with pneumonia. The patient in this case presented scattered rhonchi. The scattered rhonchi are due to the presence of mucus in the airways. The symptoms would have gotten worse over time, i.e. with the fever being as high as 105 degrees.

Differential Diagnosis

In essence, the differential diagnosis for viral pneumonia could be rather broad. Below are four differential diagnoses for Patient X:

Influenza

This is a respiratory infection that in some instances does not require any medical intervention.

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It should, however, be noted that in some instances, it could result in fatal complications (Myint and Robinson, 2012). Some of the symptoms of influenza include: fever, sore throat, nasal congestion, weakness and fatigue, persistent cough (mostly dry), headaches, myalgia, and fever (Myint and Robinson, 2012). In the case of Patient X, influenza could be ruled out as the patient does not present sore throat, dry and persistent cough, and headache. Also, Patient X presents low grade fever (99 degrees) whereas in the case of influenza, fever over 100 degrees would have been more likely.

Asthma

Asthma results from the narrowing as well as swelling of the airways and the production of additional mucus. As a result, the person suffering from the same could experience difficulty in breathing as well as shortness of breath which could be accompanied by wheezing and coughing. Thus, some of the main symptoms of asthma are: wheezing, breath shortness, chest tightness, breathing difficulties, and cough attacks (Myint and Robinson, 2012). It should be noted that breathing sounds in the case of asthma tend to be different from those of pneumonia. When it comes to asthma, one is likely to hear wheezing….....

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