An elderly patient with irreversible respiratory disease

An Elderly Patient with Irreversible Respiratory Disease
Institution Affiliation
Author’s Name
An Elderly Patient with Irreversible Respiratory Disease
Palliative care usually administered to terminally ill patients incorporates the use of medication as well as the support system. Medication aims at making the life of the client more comfortable. Whereas, the support system, usually involving machines aids in the functioning of body organs and processes. The Irreversible Respiratory disease is a fatal ailment that makes the patient reliant on machine support as well as the medication to function normally. The elderly patient has relied on machine support for survival. A personal decision is vital in palliative nursing. Therefore, the medical practitioners should respect his decision. However, there should be a distinction between the two forms of medication; CPR and antibiotics.
Some of the respiratory diseases are caused by bacterial infections in the lungs. According to Qureshi, Sharafkhaneh, and Hanania (2014), the common pathogens that cause severe infections in the respiratory tract includes; Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Moraxella catarrhalis. However, medical practitioners fail in agreeing in the use of medication for the terminally ill-patients. In specific cases where the laboratory results have brought evidence in the production of pathogens such as sputum, then antibiotics medication is allowed. Therefore, in the case of the elderly patient medication using antibiotics should be allowed. There should be a clear distinction on the kind of antibiotics to take. The severity of his condition as well as the underlying lung structure should serve as the guide into which kind of antibiotics to take.
There have been some resistant strains after antibiotics treatment. A thorough examination should be conducted to ascertain whether the el...