You are triaging patients in the emergency department when a patient comes in stating she was in a boating accident about 3 hours ago
Now the patient has complaints including headache, fatigue, and the feeling that she "just isn't breathing enough." You note that the patient is restless and tachycardic with an elevated blood pressure. What would you suspect the patient is in the early stages of?
A) Pneumothorax
B) Pulmonary embolus
C) Acute respiratory failure
D) Pneumonia
Ans: C
Feedback: Early signs of acute respiratory failure are those associated with impaired oxygenation and may include restlessness, fatigue, headache, dyspnea, air hunger, tachycardia, and increased blood pressure. As the hypoxemia progresses, more obvious signs may be present, including confusion, lethargy, tachycardia, tachypnea, central cyanosis, diaphoresis, and, finally, respiratory arrest. A cardinal sign of pneumothorax is pain. Dyspnea is the most frequent symptom of a pulmonary embolus; the duration and intensity of the dyspnea depend on the extent of embolization. Chest pain is common and is usually sudden and pleuritic in origin.
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