Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Chief complaint
Mr. Frank is an 84-year-old man who was found by his daughter on the floor of his apartment after failing to answer the telephone for a day. He complained of pain in his left knee, but otherwise is confused and unable to explain what had occurred. He was brought to the hospital by ambulance and admitted.
Past Medical/Surgical History – provided by the daughter
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Myocardial infarction (MI) 10 years ago
Hypertension (HTN)
Peptic ulcer disease with bleeding 20 years ago
Benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH)
Venous insufficiency
Bilateral cataract surgery 5 years ago
Left inguinal hernia repair 25 years ago
Medications:
Aspirin 325 mg daily Atenolol 50 mg daily Multivitamin daily
Vitamin E 800 U daily terazosin 5 mg daily Lisinopril 10 mg daily
Vitamin C 1000 mg daily Ginkgo biloba daily
Social History – provided by the daughter
Mr. Frank lives alone and is able to care for himself. A woman cleans his apartment twice weekly and also does some shopping. His daughter is very involved and calls about every third day. He was a bookkeeper, retired at age 65 and became a widower at age 70. He manages his own finances and enjoys baseball on TV. He denies any recent change in appetite, has some rolls and coffee for breakfast, lunch at the senior center, and for dinner, he usually warms something left by his cleaning lady or eats at a restaurant near his home. He smoked 2 packs a day from age 20 to age 55 when he stopped after an episode of pneumonia. He rarely drinks more than one drink an evening. He does not exercise, and takes his medications as prescribed.
Physical Examination:
In the emergency room, his physical examination revealed a thin, frail male who appears alert but agitated and in moderate pain, lying on the stretcher.
Lung sounds have coarse crackles in the posterior right lung base
His vital signs were:
Pulse 48
Oxygen Saturation 88% on room air
Blood pressure lying down 190/70
Respiratory rate 26 labored
Temperature 102 F
Weight 125 lbs.
Height 5 ft. 9 in
He has 2+ pitting pedal edema to his left foot, none to the right foot. Unable to palpate a pedal pulse to the left foot. 2+ strong pulse to the right foot. He has obvious shortening and external rotation of the left leg.
Answer the following questions.
1. What subjective data is provided?
2. What objective data is provided?
3. Can you identify safety concerns for Mr. Frank?
4. Determine 3 – 4 nursing interventions that can be implemented for Mr. Frank.