Respiratory Flashcards
What do you need prior to a thoracentesis
Chest xray
Vitals
How do you position the client during a thoracentesis
Sitting up leaning over side table.
Sit in a chair backwards propped up over the chair.
Lie on unaffected side with HOB at 45degrees
What occurs in a thoracentesis
Fluid/blood/exudate is being removed from pleural space
What do you expect to occur as a result of a thoracentesis
The lungs to expand
What do you want to monitor as a result of thoracentesis
Vital signs
After a thoracentesis what should you do
get an cxr
Why would a client need a chest tube?
The lung have collapsed
If a chest tube is placed in the 2nd intercostal space what do you expect to be removed
air
If a chest tube is placed in the 8th or 9th intercostal space what do you expect to be removed
drainage
What is the purpose of a cdu
to restore normal vacuum pressure in the pleural space.
What do you do if the drainage chamber fills up
change it
What is the purpose of the water seal chamber
to promote one way flow and prevent air from going into patient
What do you do if you see bubbling/tidalling in the water seal chamber
It is normal when the client is breathing, coughing, sneezes or exhales.
It should be intermittent
What happens if a patient was on dry suction system, do you expect bubbling
No because there is no water to regulate the pressure. Instead a dial is used to give negative pressure.
As a nurse what are some things you need to assess for in a patient with a CDU
- Assess Dressing must be tight and intact
- Auscultate Lung sounds bilaterally
- Vitals-monitor o2 sats report anything 100 in the first hour and if there is a change in color to bright red
Record drainage for first 24 hours and then every 8 hours. Notify physciain if drainage is greater than 100 in the first hour and if there is a change in color to bright red - Encourage deep breath, cough, insentive spirometer
- Lab- watch for increased wbc, fever, and daily cxr
Where should the CDU be kept
below the level of the chest, if too high drainage will go back into patient
What do you monitor with the CDU system
Make sure there are no kinks, and it is a closed system. monitor water levers and tidaling.
What happens when tidalling stops?
Check the tubing, or is there a dependent loop present in the system then…
Check to see if the lung has re-expanded
What do you do if the tubing gets disconnected
Use sterile water that would be at the bedside, and reconnect as fast as you can
What happens if the water seal chamber falls over
Re-establish a water seal, set cdu upright and fill chamber to 2cm water.
Have client deep breath and cough in case any air went into pleural space
What if the chest tube was accidently pulled out
Maintain a 3 way valve opening with gauze