My anwer to your RT Queries

Every week I check my statcounter to see who's typing things into Google or Yahoo and being linked to my RT Cave blog. Assuming the queries were not answered, I provide in this spot each week my humble responses.And, hey, if the query is comical, it deserves a comical response. If it's serious, I treat it as serious. That in mind, here are this weeks queries:

1. spiriva vs xopenex: Basically all you need to know about these two meds is that Xopenex is a fast acting bronchodilator that can provide instant relief from asthma or COPD. It is often called a rescue medicine because it works fast. It relaxes the air passages in the lungs. Xopenex is a medicine similar to Albuterol which is much less expensive and more commonly prescribed by physicians. Spiriva is a medicine that is also a bronchodilator yet it is referred to as a mild-bronchodilator. It has been proven to improve lung funciton in COPD patients, yet has not been proven to be of any benefit for most asthmatics. Spiriva and Xopenex (or Albuterol) are both recommended for COPD patients.

2. which is better advair or spiriva: I describe spiriva in the above paragraph. For COPD patients Spiriva and Advair and Xopenex can be used together. Advair is a preventative medicine that has both an inhaled steroid (Flovent) and a long acting bronchodilator. The steroid component treats and prevents inflammation, and the long-acting bronchodilator part treats and prevents bronchospasm.

3. blood gas interpretation made easy: This seems to be my most popular post.

4. even if you quit smoking, does copd stop progressing: I have been told that if you stop smoking you can prevent further progression of the disease. However, you cannot undue the damage that has already occured. While COPD is known to progress in many patients, this progression will be much slower in those who quit smoking.

5. when to stop ippb: I personally doctors should stop ordering IPPB altogether. However, it is recommended when an IPPB therapy is given that the treatment be 10 minutes long. Usually, however, most patients cannot make it that long with this annoying therapy.

6. what jobs can a respiratory therapist with bad knees do: I would guess doing pulmonary function testing wouldn't be too demanding on your knees. In the region where I live stress testing is a procedure performed by the RT department. Some RT departments do sleep studies.