RSS FeedRecognizing ARDS stages
Labels: Acute Biologic Crisis , Basic Nursing Procedures , Emergency Nursing , Fundamentals of Nursing , healthy lifestyle , Medical-Surgical Nursing
Adult repiratory distress syndrome ( ARDS)
is staged from I to IV.
Stage
I
In this first stage, the patient may
complain of dyspnea, especially on exertion.Respiratory and pulse rates are
normal to high. Auscultation may reveal diminished breath sounds.
Stage
II
Respiratory distress becomes more apparent
in stage II. The patient may use accessory muscle to breathe and appear pallid,
anxious, and restless. He may have a dry cough with thick, frothy sputum and
bloody, sticky secreation. Palpation may disclose cool, clammy sin. Tachycardia
and tachypnea may accompany elevated blood pressure.Auscultation may detect
basilar crackles.( Stage II sign and symptoms may be incorrectly attributed to
other causes such as multiple trauma.)
Stage
III
The patient may struggle to breath if he’s
in Stage III. A vital signs check reveals tachypnea ( more than 30
breaths/minute), tachycardia with arrhythmias ( usually premature ventricular
contractions), and a liable blood pressure. Inspection may reveal a productive
cough and pale, cyanotic skin.Auscultation may disclose crackles and rnonchi.
The patient will need intubation and ventilation.
Stage
IV
At this late stage, the patient has acute
respiratory failure with severe hypoxia.His mental status is deteriorating, and
he may become comatose. His skin appears pale and cyanotic. Spontaneous
repirations aren’t evident. Bradycardia with arrhythmias accompanies
hypotension.Metabolic and respiratory acidosis develop.When ARDS reaches this
stage, the patient is at risk for fibrosis.Pulmonary damage becomes life
threatening.
