Extracting 1000ml of phlegm from a man's lungs, if not suctioned out
No one would think this is the amount of phlegm extracted from a person's lungs every day.
Taiwanese (Chinese) chest physician Dr. Su Yifeng recently shared the case of a patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who had been intubated last week. The patient's current condition is stable but they can expel up to "1000cc of phlegm" daily. The photo shocked netizens.
According to Dr. Su, the male patient, who weighs only 40kg, was intubated last week due to COPD, bronchiectasis, and pneumonia treatment. Although the family was hesitant about intubation at the time, if the procedure had not been performed that day, the patient would have died. Fortunately, the patient's condition stabilized: "Each time the patient expelled two jars of phlegm..." Dr. Su said.
Lung diseases have become a concerning cause of death in recent years, and "patients dying from drowning in their own phlegm due to pneumonia is really not impossible."
When asked why the patient expelled such a large amount of phlegm, Dr. Su explained that patients with COPD secrete an unusually large amount of phlegm, and those with bronchiectasis secrete even more. Some patients can expel hundreds of cc of phlegm daily, which can block the trachea, impairing the lungs' ability to ventilate, leading to decreased oxygen levels in the blood and increased carbon dioxide levels.
Dr. Su Yifeng continued by saying that the patient in question is bedridden and unable to cough up phlegm on their own, requiring someone else to gently tap and suction out the phlegm. Coughing up phlegm requires coordination of the respiratory muscles. However, bedridden patients cannot properly cough up phlegm due to muscle atrophy.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), commonly known as emphysema, is a condition where the airways are chronically inflamed, causing impaired airflow due to poor gas exchange in the lungs. Patients often experience "coughing, phlegm, and wheezing." Symptoms are likely to be accompanied by comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, and lung cancer.
COPD is the third leading cause of death worldwide. In Vietnam, according to preliminary data from the 2020 Non-communicable Disease Risk Factor Survey conducted by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the World Health Organization and the General Statistics Office, 3.1% of adults (ages 18–69) have been diagnosed with COPD.
Dr. Su emphasized that although respiratory diseases are closely linked to air pollution in recent years, the preventive measures to protect the lungs include quitting smoking and avoiding the harm of secondhand smoke.
COPD patients are often caused by smoking, including passive smoking, so it is recommended that "people over 40 years old who smoke," "those with a family history of COPD," and "those exposed to excessive air pollution in their work environment" should have their lung function checked regularly and, more importantly, quit smoking immediately.
