The aim of this essay is to explore evidence based nursing intervention in the care and management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in an acutely ill patient. The acutely ill patient involved in this essay was admitted to hospital due to cerebrovascular accident and had a past medical history of myocardial Infarction, left Ventricular failure, peripheral vascular disease and duodenal ulcer as well as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This essay will provide a rationale for the chosen aspect of care (COPD) and reason will be given why it is a priority. In particular the essay will examine the significance of the underlying pathophysiology of the disease relating to the acutely ill patient other conditions. The nursing intervention will focus on the measures in order to manage the acutely ill patient experiencing breathlessness. The involvement of other members of the multidisciplinary team, some of the relevant drugs, the common test and investigations will discuss as a part of the nurse holistic care process.
Main Body
The author chooses chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) from a clinical perspective, as it is a long-term condition that is associated with impaired lung function and lung damage which interferes with gas exchange and ventilation in the respiratory tract, causing an acutely ill patient to experience severe difficulty with airway clearance, alterations in breathing patterns, and impaired oxygenation, as well as anxiety (Currie 2009). It also imposes a considerable burden on the acutely ill patient’s quality of life in terms of ability to live independently, financial losses due to absence from work, premature retirement and psychological well being which eventually leads to depression, and feeling of being trapped by the