NURSING DIAGNOSIS: Ineffective Airway Clearance related to increased production of secretions, retained secretions, and thick, viscous secretions.
Assessment Planning Interventions Rationale Evaluation
Objected Data:
Labored breathing
VS Taken:
RR-29 cpm (labored
breathing)
02SAT- 86%
BP- 60/40 mmHg
T- 35.4
PR- 135 bpm
At the end of 8-hour
student-nurse client
interactions, client will
demonstrate behaviors
to improve airway
clearance.
INDEPENDENT:
1.Assess rate/depth of
respirations and chest
movement. Monitor for
signs of respiratory failure
(e.g., cyanosis and severe
tachypnea).
2.Auscultate lung fields,
noting areas of
decreased/absent airflow
and adventitious breath
sounds; e.g., crackles,
wheezes
3.Elevate head of bed, change
position frequently.
4.Assist client with frequent
deep-breathing exercises.
Demonstrate/help client
learn to perform activity;
e.g., splinting chest and
effective coughing while in
upright position.
5.Suction as indicated (e.g.,
frequent or sustained cough,
adventitious breath sounds,
desaturation related to
airway secretions).
INDEPENDENT:
Tachypnea, shallow respirations, and asymmetric chest
movement are frequently present because of discomfort
of moving chest wall and/or fluid in lung. When
pneumonia is severe, the client may require endotracheal
intubation and mechanical ventilation to keep airways
clear.
Decreased airflow occurs in areas consolidated with fluid.
Bronchial breath sounds (normal over bronchus) can also
occur in consolidated areas. Crackles, rhonchi, and
wheezes are heard on inspiration and/or expiration in
response to fluid accumulation, thick secretions, and
airway spasm/obstruction.
Keeping the head elevated lowers diaphragm, promoting
chest expansion, aeration of lung segments, and
mobilization and expectoration of secretions to keep the
airway clear
Deep brearhing facilitates maximum expansion of the
lungs/smaller airways. Coughing is a natural self-cleaning
mechanism, assisting the cilia to maintain patent airways.
Splinting reduces chest discomfort, and an upright
position favors deeper, more forceful cough effort. Note:
cough associated with pneumonias may last days to
weeks or even months.
Stimulates cough or mechanically clear airways in client
who is unable to do so because of ineffective cough or
decreased level of consciousness.
At the end of 8-hour
student-nurse client
interactions, client
was able to
demonstrate
behaviors to improve
airway clearance.