Koji's story – Pneumonia
Non-invasive ventilation
Case summary
- 66-year-old male with community-acquired pneumonia
- Moderate COPD, previous hospitalisations
- Began feeling unwell 4 days ago, prescribed antibiotics by physician, proved ineffective
- Over the last 2 days experienced worsening dyspnoea, cough, and increasing sputum purulence
- Presented to ED in moderate to severe respiratory distress. X-ray found multilobar pneumonia, sent to ICU
Treatment
- Non-invasive ventilation
- Beta-agonists and anticholinergics nebulised in-line via Aerogen Solo every 4–6 hours
- IV fluids, corticosteroids and antibiotics
Patient outcomes
- Non-invasive ventilation ceased
- Continued treatments via Aerogen Ultra
- Moved to ward and discharged home
COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; ED, emergency department; ICU, intensive care unit; ED, emergency department; IV, intravenous.
Not based on a specific patient but is representative of common clinical situations. Patient journey developed based on: Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD). Global Strategy for the Diagnosis, Management and Prevention of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Available at: http://www.goldcopd.org. Accessed: 28 February, 2022.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in over 16s: diagnosis and management (2018). Available at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng115/chapter/Recommendations#managing-exacerbations-of-copd. Accessed: 3 February, 2020.
Stanojevic S, Kaminsky DA, Miller M, et al. ERS/ATS technical standard on interpretive strategies for routine lung function tests [published online ahead of print, 2021 Dec 23]. Eur Respir J. 2022;60(1):2101499. doi:10.1183/13993003.01499-2021.
Stoller JK. COPD exacerbations. In: Post TW, ed. COPD exacerbations: Management. UpToDate; 2022. Available at: https://www.uptodate.com/contents/copd-exacerbations-management. Accessed: 11 July, 2022.
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