Case Studies

1. You are a nurse caring for your newest admission, a 68-year-old retired teacher who has a 50 pack-year history of smoking, which resulted in emphysema. She attends exercise classes at her local gym seeking to maximize her oxygenation. Recently, the patient has begun to contemplate the use of portable oxygen to decrease her workload to breathe.

What respiratory accommodations would you expect to observe in your patient due to her COPD?

How do the effects of emphysema increase respiratory workload?

As her condition becomes chronic, what effects would you expect to develop?

Considering her medical history, for which illnesses is she at greater risk?

Describe the lung sounds you would anticipate auscultating.

How would your patient’s COPD impact her dietary needs?

Outline measures that would promote your patient’s comfort.

Why would it be helpful to encourage adequate fluid intake?

What exhalation technique would be helpful to your patient? What are its benefits?

How could abdominal breathing assist your patient in oxygenation?

Why is it important to monitor the oxygen flow rate in patients with COPD?