Question

The ambulance delivers a 78-year-old woman with chronic lung disease to the ED with complaints of difficulty in breathing. As you perform the assessment, what is the most reliable indicator of the severity of her distress?

		Five- to six-word dyspnea
		Pallor and diaphoresis
		Patient’s description of severity
		Tachycardia

Answer 1

The correct answer is pallor and diaphoresis

As the patient is having a lung problem with shortness of breath may have a change of respiratory distress, the severity of the distress can be understood if the patient becomes pallor. Changes in the skin color to pallor show that there is severe lack of oxygen supply to the patient. Diaphoresis is because of stress and more force breathing.

The other options are wrong because they have less priority to show the severity of the distress.