A patient presents with sudden onset of dyspnea, pleuritic chest pain, and a productive cough. Which of the following clinical manifestations would strongly suggest a pulmonary emb... A patient presents with sudden onset of dyspnea, pleuritic chest pain, and a productive cough. Which of the following clinical manifestations would strongly suggest a pulmonary embolism (PE)? A) Hemoptysis (coughing up blood) B) Hypertension (high blood pressure) C) Decreased oxygen saturation D) Bradycardia (slow heart rate)
Understand the Problem
The question asks for the clinical manifestation that would indicate a pulmonary embolism (PE) in a patient showing specific symptoms such as dyspnea, pleuritic chest pain, and productive cough.
Answer
C) Decreased oxygen saturation.
The final answer is C) Decreased oxygen saturation.
Answer for screen readers
The final answer is C) Decreased oxygen saturation.
More Information
Decreased oxygen saturation is a strong clinical indication of a pulmonary embolism because PE impairs the oxygenation of blood in the lungs by blocking blood flow.
Tips
A common mistake might be to focus on bradycardia, which is not typically associated with PE. Instead, PE is more likely to cause tachycardia.
Sources
- Acute Pulmonary Embolism - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf - ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Pulmonary embolism - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic - mayoclinic.org
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