Question

An elderly patient has been ill with the flu, experiencing headache, fever, and chills. After 3 days, she develops a cough producing yellow sputum. The nurse auscultates her lungs and hears diffuse crackles. How would the nurse best interpret these assessment findings?

Answer 1

The nurse would interpret the cough with yellow sputum and diffuse crackles as possible signs of secondary bacterial pneumonia, likely requiring further diagnostics like chest radiographs and sputum culture.

Step-by-step explanation:

An elderly patient with a history of flu-like symptoms such as headache, fever, and chills develops a cough producing yellow sputum and crackles upon lung auscultation. These symptoms suggest that the patient may have progressed from a simple viral infection to a secondary bacterial pneumonia. Yellow or green sputum often indicates the presence of white blood cells fighting off bacterial infection. Diffuse crackles in the lungs typically represent fluid or secretions in the airways, which is characteristic of pneumonia. Physicians frequently order diagnostic tests like chest radiographs and collect sputum samples for culture to confirm pneumonia and identify the responsible pathogen.