Home nursing for pulmonary fibrosis

Plan around a known task, not breathlessness in the abstract

Choose repeatable reference tasks such as speaking a sentence, walking from bed to bathroom or completing upper-body washing. Record breathlessness, recovery time, cough, prescribed saturation and oxygen device during those tasks, plus symptoms at rest and lying. Add the exact diagnosis, latest respiratory explanation, infection history, pulmonary hypertension or heart disease, prescribed medicines and current rehabilitation plan. This gives the team a functional trend and helps distinguish gradual decline from an abrupt change that needs urgent review.

list the oxygen prescription by situation: rest, sleep, exertion and travel. Check device, interface, tubing, skin, condensation, supply, concentrator power and backup instructions. Keep oxygen away from smoking, flames, heat, oils and trip hazards. A nurse can observe safe use and report problems but cannot invent a new flow target. compare and resolve antifibrotic, steroid, immune, cough and other medicines, with attention to gastrointestinal effects, infection, appetite, weight, hydration and required blood monitoring.

Break bathing, dressing, meals and appointments into smaller stages with seated preparation and recovery, while preserving chosen activities. Coordinate mobility and pulmonary rehabilitation with the assessed plan and avoid forcing exercise through severe symptoms. Review nutrition, mouth comfort, cough, sleep, anxiety and caregiver night workload. Keep a rapid-change pathway for new severe breathlessness, chest pain, haemoptysis, confusion, fever with decline or collapse. Sudden worsening is not automatically the expected course of fibrosis and may need emergency assessment.

• Repeatable functional reference task
• Situation-specific oxygen map
• Medicine and nutrition surveillance
• Rapid-change pathway

Related sources:[1][2]