Question

The nurse is caring for patients with cardiopulmonary disorders in a health care facility. Which intervention should the nurse perform first when assessing these patients?

1) Evaluate the patient's skin color, texture, and capillary refill in the fingers and toes.
2) Determine the patient's body temperature, pulse rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure.
3) Evaluate the cardiac function of the patient by x-ray, echocardiogram, and electrocardiogram.
4) Determine the forced vital capacity and functional respiratory volume of the patient.

Answer 1

The nurse should first determine the patient's vital signs, including body temperature, pulse, respiratory rate, and blood pressure, when assessing patients with cardiopulmonary disorders.

Step-by-step explanation:

When assessing patients with cardiopulmonary disorders, the nurse should first determine the patient's vital signs, which includes body temperature, pulse rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure. This initial evaluation provides a quick and essential understanding of the patient's current physiological state and can indicate if there is any urgent situation that needs to be addressed immediately. As vital signs are objective and measurable indicators that may reveal signs of disease, they are often the first step in a patient assessment before proceeding to more specific testing such as evaluating skin color, texture, capillary refill, and the use of diagnostic imaging and pulmonary function tests.