Reference no: EM133878376

Question

The primary purpose of the respiratory system is to deliver oxygen to the body cells through the circulatory system with functions such as removing carbon dioxide, regulating acid-base balances throughout the body, protecting against inhaled disease-causing organisms or toxic substances, housing the cells responsible for smell, and assisting in the production of sounds for speech (Rhodes & Peterson, 2021). Patients often present to their primary care provider with respiratory symptoms such as cough, sputum production, chest pain, and dyspnea (Rhodes & Petersen, 2021). An acute cough, or a cough present for less than 3 weeks, is often caused by an acute upper or lower respiratory tract infection (such as the common cold, acute bronchitis, or COVID-19) or exacerbation of a chronic condition (such as asthma, COPD, or heart failure) (Weinberger & Saukkonen, 2024). Along with a cough is often sputum production, which in even small amounts or regularity is suggestive of the presence of disease (Rhodes & Peterson, 2021). There are many differential diagnoses for patients with chest pain, and quite a few relate to respiratory etiologies. Respiratory etiologies for chest pain includes: pneumonthroax, pneumonia, malignancy of the lungs, asthma/COPD, pleuritis, and pulmonary hypertension (Patel, 2023).