Tachypnea is a symptom of rapid, shallow breathing where a patient has more than twenty breaths per minute. This symptom has many possible causes. Tachypnea is, in most cases, a medical emergency. In fact, the patient receives less oxygen and, in many cases, death is possible. Treatment depends on the underlying cause of the tachypnea, but the sooner a patient receives treatment, the better the prognosis.
Item content:
· Synonyms of Tachypnea
Tachypnea and hyperventilation
Etiology of tachypnea: rapid and shallow breathing – Common problem in the lungs
Symptoms of a patient with tachypnea
Diagnostic studies in patients with tachypnea
Treatment of patients with tachypnea
Complications in patients with tachypnea
Synonyms of Tachypnea
Tachypnea is also known as:
Respiratory rate – rapid and shallow
Breathing – rapid and shallow
chest breathing
Rapid shallow breathing
chest breathing
Tachypnea and hyperventilation
When a patient hyperventilates, they breathe rapidly but deeply, unlike someone with tachypnea whose breathing is shallow. Carbon dioxide in the lungs causes hyperventilation, and tachypnea is caused by carbon dioxide in the blood.
Etiology of tachypnea: rapid and shallow breathing – Common problem in the lungs
Rapid, shallow breathing has many possible medical causes, including: anxiety, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other chronic lung diseases, a blood clot in an artery in the lungs, an infection of the smallest airways of the lungs in children (bronchiolitis), hyperventilation, pulmonary edema, pneumonia, heart failure, asphyxia and transient tachypnea of the newborn patient… 48 hours). This is especially common in babies who are born prematurely, babies who have had a C-section, and babies whose mother has diabetes.
Symptoms of a patient with tachypnea
The patient has blue or gray skin, nails, lips, gums, or the area around the eyes (cyanosis). Also, the chest moves inward with each breath. The patient also has chest pain, fever, and shortness of breath. Dizziness may also occur, as well as insomnia at night and drowsiness and fatigue during the day. Sometimes the symptoms can get worse. These symptoms emphasize a medical emergency. A patient should, in other words, as soon as possible seek professional medical help.
Diagnostic studies in patients with Tachypnea
Physical exam
The doctor will perform a complete physical examination of the patient. Examines the patient’s heart, lungs, abdomen, and head.
diagnostic tests
Possible tests may include a CT scan of the chest, an electrocardiogram (ECG), a chest X-ray, and a ventilation/perfusion scan of the lungs.
Treatment of patients with tachypnea
Treatment will depend on the underlying cause of rapid breathing. Oxygen therapy is necessary when the amount of oxygen is low and also inhalation therapy. Aerosols are needed in an asthma or COPD attack to open up the airways. Also, corticosteroids can help here. Antibiotics help with pneumonia bacteria. If a patient has anxiety from tachypnea, medications are available for this purpose. For some patients (anxiety), yoga exercises are good for relieving shallow breathing.
Complications in patients with Tachypnea
When the patient has severe shallow breathing, disorientation, delirium, confusion, and even seizures may occur.
