Question

After surgery, a client reports sudden severe chest pain and begins coughing. The nurse suspects the client has a thromboembolism. What characteristic of the sputum supports the nurse's suspicion that the client has a pulmonary embolus?

A) Hemoptysis (coughing up blood)
B) Clear and thin sputum
C) Yellow or green sputum
D) Thick and white sputum

Answer 1

The characteristic of the sputum that supports the nurse's suspicion of a pulmonary embolus is coughing up blood (hemoptysis).

Step-by-step explanation:

The characteristic of the sputum that supports the nurse's suspicion that the client has a pulmonary embolus is a) hemoptysis (coughing up blood).

A pulmonary embolus is a blood clot that blocks a pulmonary artery in the lungs. Coughing up blood, known as hemoptysis, can occur when the blood clot disrupts the normal blood flow in the lungs and causes damage to the blood vessels, leading to bleeding.