Pharmacology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Pharmacology - Essay Example At this point, Mary was prescribed the corticosteroid known commercially as Advair. Initially, she was compliant with the recommended dose of two inhalations daily, but later began to forget. In her most recent clinic visit, this practitioner has diagnosed Mary with bacterial pneumonia following chest x-ray and isolated cultures from sputum samples. Cough was initially dry, but grew productive over the course of 24 hours. Spirometry was performed in which she achieved a forced expiratory volume of 62%. The chest x-ray revealed a flattened diaphragm, following this observation Mary was diagnosed with COPD. To treat her infection, she was given amoxicillin. Joseph (4 years old) was brought in by his parents with a high temperature and productive cough. He had no past medical history or allergies and took no prescription or over-the-counter medications. This was a comparatively difficult assessment based upon the prior experience of the practitioner considering that the questions were more directed at the parents than at the child, a frequent necessity of pediatric medicine. But the same overall structure familiar to the practitioner was maintained. As advised by Dorp (2008) the GP used simple language to communicate with the child to provide reassurance. Before asking questions she played with the child to try and gain trust. It is also advised to have a child friendly atmosphere during these assessments (Dorp 2008); but a dedicated area designed to be child friendly is not feasible at present. Following the consultation and examination, a chest infection was detected, and Paracetamol and Amoxicillin were prescribed. COPD is not contingent upon a single organic condition; impaired airflow into the lungs with subsequent breathing difficulty can result from a selection of pathologies, including chest infections. It is often tested through spirometry (Celli, 2000; CDC, 2011). This condition is a risk for both men and women, and the rates of death can