A nurse assumes care for a client who is 4 hours postoperative following a right-sided pneumonectomy for bronchogenic carcinoma. The client has no chest tube in place. Current vital signs are: heart rate 112/min, respiratory rate 24/min, blood pressure 118/76 mm Hg, and SpO2 93% on 3 L/min of oxygen via nasal cannula. The nurse observes the client lying in the left lateral decubitus position with the head of the bed elevated 30 degrees. Assessment reveals absent breath sounds on the right side and a trachea that is deviated slightly to the right. Which intervention should the nurse implement FIRST to reduce the client's risk for sudden physiological decompensation?
- Reposition the client to a supine or right lateral position immediately.Cevap
- BMaintain the current position and encourage the use of an incentive spirometer.
- CNotify the rapid response team to report the right-sided tracheal deviation.
- DPrepare to obtain an arterial blood gas sample to evaluate the tachypnea.
Cevap
The nurse should immediately reposition the client to a supine or right lateral (operative side) position.
Following a pneumonectomy, the client must be positioned either supine or on the operative side (the right side, in this scenario). This position promotes maximum ventilation of the remaining healthy lung by preventing mediastinal shift and fluid compression. If the client lies on the unoperated side, gravity pulls the fluid accumulating in the empty surgical cavity downward, which compresses the remaining functional lung and can lead to sudden respiratory failure. It also increases the risk of fluid drowning the good lung if the bronchial stump sutures rupture.
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Anahtar Kavram
Post-pneumonectomy positioning requires placing the client on the operative side or supine to facilitate expansion of the remaining lung and prevent mediastinal compression.