The common causes of swollen legs in the late stage of emphysema are pulmonary heart disease, hypoproteinemia, deep vein thrombosis, etc., which need to be given according to the cause of anti-infection, nutrition, anticoagulation and other treatments.
1. pulmonary heart disease: pulmonary artery pressure rises in the late emphysema, resulting in obstruction of blood circulation in the heart and secondary pulmonary heart disease, patients will appear edema of the legs, there are patients with infections, first of all, comply with the doctor’s instructions should be anti-infective cefuroxime, amoxicillin and other treatments, can be applied to furosemide and other diuretics for relief.
2. Hypoalbuminemia: patients with advanced emphysema will suffer from malnutrition, which will lead to hypoalbuminemia and cause swelling of legs, patients need to try to strengthen the nutritional intake, patients with intake difficulties can be transfused with human albumin.
3. Deep vein thrombosis: long-term bedridden patients with advanced emphysema are prone to deep vein thrombosis, which can be diagnosed by ultrasound of the lower extremity veins, and anticoagulant medications such as warfarin and rivaroxaban can be prescribed according to the condition, and lower extremity venous filters can be put in to prevent the disease if necessary.
Patients with advanced emphysema who have swollen legs should go to the hospital as soon as possible to clarify the cause, and take appropriate measures under the guidance of the doctor according to the cause.