Diseases Of Respiratory Tract

Overview

Diseases of the respiratory tract comprise of a wide spectrum of conditions. The common ones are obstructive pulmonary disease such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchiectasis, and cystic fibrosis. Other diseases are infections of the respiratory system such as pneumonia and tuberculosis, tumours of bronchus and lungs, interstitial and infiltrative pulmonary disease, occupational and environmental lung diseases such as pneumoconiosis. It is crucial to identify the etiology of the disease and it can be done with proper investigations such as full blood count, blood culture, imaging such as chest x-ray, CT scan, PET scan, MRI, bronchoscopy, thoracoscopy, immunological and serological test. Commonly the presenting symptoms of the respiratory tract diseases are cough, breathlessness, chest pain, clubbing of the nails, and hemoptysis. Each spectrum of respiratory tract diseases is managed accordingly. However antimicrobial treatment with supplemental oxygen is the mainstay treatment. Avoiding the risk factors such as smoking and environmental dust are also essential to avoid diseases such as COPD, bronchiectasis and environmental lung diseases.