An 82-year-old client is being treated on the medical-surgical unit for a severe lower respiratory tract infection. During afternoon rounds, a visiting family member tells the practical nurse (PN) that the client seems "much more restless and confused" compared to the morning. Which subsequent assessment findings should the PN identify as early warning signs of systemic hypoperfusion or impending shock? Select all that apply.
- Inability to identify their current location, which represents a change from the morning assessmentCevap
- A resting apical heart rate that has steadily climbed to 114 beats per minuteCevap
- A decrease in systolic blood pressure of 25 mm Hg from the admission baselineCevap
- DReports of moderate chest wall discomfort when coughing or taking deep breaths
- EA documented urinary output of 340 mL over the most recent 8-hour period
Cevap
The early warning signs of systemic hypoperfusion include a change in mental status (disorientation), an increasing resting heart rate (tachycardia), and a significant relative decrease in systolic blood pressure.
Early physiological adaptation to shock involves sympathetic nervous system activation, leading to tachycardia as the body attempts to maintain cardiac output. As compensation begins to fail, the systolic blood pressure drops (even if not yet strictly hypotensive, a relative drop of 25 mm Hg is significant). Furthermore, the brain is highly sensitive to hypoperfusion and hypoxia, meaning sudden confusion or restlessness is a critical, early sign of decompensation, particularly in older adults.
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Anahtar Kavram
Recognition of early hemodynamic compromise and hypoperfusion in older adults, prioritizing ABCs over expected localized symptoms.