NURS 161 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Jugular Vein, Peripheral Edema, Sympathetic Nervous System
15 May 2020
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A patient with emphysema displays a physical appearance of pursed lips, barrel chested, tripod position using accessory muscles. They are often called pink puffers because they hyperventilate to maintain adequate oxygen saturation, this happens until exacerbations or severe copd occurs then you will see hypoxia and cyanosis. Emphysema can weaken the right side of the heart causing physical appearance of jugular vein distention and peripheral edema. Mr. cohen"s o2 saturation reading is normal for a copd patient. The accepted standard of practice is keeping o2 saturation within 88%-92%. Copd patients especially severe cases, cannot oxygenate well due to lung damage from fibrosis and decreased tissue in the alveoli due to air trapping. The effects copd can have on the heart also play into not being able to reoxygenate the blood to keep o2 saturation above the healthy 95%. Mr. cohen"s o2 saturation during exertion dipped to 86%, which is normal because he has sob during activity.
