Final answer:
A change in skin color, the patient working hard to breathe, and abnormal chest pain are signs that may indicate a respiratory problem. Healthcare providers use a stethoscope, spirometry, and pulse oximetry to detect these issues. Examples include pneumonia and lung diseases with increased airflow resistance.
Step-by-step explanation:
The observations that may indicate a respiratory problem include a change in skin color, a patient working hard to breathe, and abnormal chest pain. These symptoms can be signs of respiratory distress or disease. Healthcare providers can detect increased resistance in a patient's lungs during a physical examination by using tools such as a stethoscope to listen for abnormal breathing sounds, such as crackles, wheezes, or stridor, and spirometry to measure the rate of airflow and identify any restrictive lung diseases. Detecting low oxygen levels in the blood, or hypoxemia, with a pulse oximeter and noticing physical signs like shortness of breath or coughing can also indicate an underlying respiratory condition.
Patient cases like Barbara's, where crackling sounds and hypoxemia are noted, point toward conditions such as pneumonia. Similarly, findings such as cavities and opacities in a chest radiograph, as seen in Marsha's case, can indicate the presence of lung diseases that cause increased resistance to airflow.