Order DescriptionDiscussion Prompt #1
•In this week’s material on lung function, two diseases tend to emerge as clinically important: COPD and lung cancer. Please go onto the CDC website (www.CDC.gov) to look up facts and figures on one of these two diseases. What is its burden on society? How can you, working on the front lines of disease management, help to relieve the burden of the disease on society?

Discussion Prompt #2
•Read the case study below. Answer and discuss the questions that follow.

ND is a 82-year-old female who lives in a skilled nursing facility. She suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, coronary artery disease, chronic bronchitis, and hypertension. She is wheelchair bound and tends to spend most of her days in bed. She smoked for 52 years but quit 14 years ago. She has lost 10 pounds in the last month and has had a productive cough for about 2 weeks that has copious amounts of white to yellow mucous. Over the last 3 days, she has refused to get out of bed and has been refusing to eat or drink. This morning she is confused, has a fever, and is coughing continuously. Her sputum now is rust-colored. Her lungs sounds are coarse rhonchi throughout with crackles and diminished lung sounds in her right middle lobe area. Her vital signs are BP 86/54, HR 98, RR 28, and temperature 102.4. She is being admitted to the hospital.

Pneumonia can be classified many different ways. Which classification of pneumonia best fits ND’s situation? Explain. What is the most probable cause of ND’s pneumonia? Which diagnostic tests would you expect to be done to diagnose ND’s pneumonia?

References:1. www.CDC.gov
2. Textbook : pathphysiology 5th edition Lee-Ellen Copstead-kirkhorn, jacquelyn L. Banasik.
If you list a reference that must be indicated (cited) in the appropriate place within the body of the Discussion. If you only list a reference at the bottom, the reader is not clear what information was obtained from that source. Page numbers are required for direct quotes. Discussing many of the concepts within this course will require a reference.