A nurse is caring for a client receiving mechanical ventilation. The nurse should prioritize which action associated with neuromuscular blockade use?

A. Clubbing of the fingers: This finding is often associated with chronic respiratory conditions, including emphysema, due to prolonged hypoxia. The chronic low oxygen levels can lead to changes in the nail beds, resulting in clubbing as the body attempts to compensate for the decreased oxygenation. Therefore, clubbing is a common assessment finding in clients with emphysema.
B. Bradycardia: Emphysema typically does not cause bradycardia; instead, clients may experience tachycardia due to increased respiratory effort and oxygen demand. While individual variations can occur, bradycardia is not a standard finding in clients with emphysema, making this option less likely to be present.
C. Barrel chest: This is a common physical assessment finding in clients with emphysema. The chronic overinflation of the lungs leads to a characteristic increase in the anteroposterior diameter of the chest, resulting in a barrel-shaped appearance. This occurs as the diaphragm becomes flattened and the rib cage is expanded from prolonged air trapping.
D. Dyspnea: Shortness of breath, or dyspnea, is a hallmark symptom of emphysema. As the disease progresses, clients may experience increased difficulty in breathing, especially during exertion, due to the destruction of alveoli and reduced lung elasticity. This finding is expected and significant in the assessment of a client with emphysema.
E. Deep respirations: In emphysema, clients often exhibit shallow, rapid breathing patterns rather than deep respirations. The loss of elasticity in the lungs leads to difficulty in full lung expansion, which can result in a more shallow and increased respiratory rate. Therefore, deep respirations are not a typical finding in clients with emphysema.

A. Increased arterial oxygen: Clients with COPD typically experience chronic hypoxemia due to alveolar destruction, airway inflammation, and mucus production, which impair gas exchange. Rather than increased oxygen levels, they often have a decreased PaO₂, requiring supplemental oxygen therapy. However, excessive oxygen administration can suppress their respiratory drive, worsening CO₂ retention.
B. Increased pH: COPD is associated with respiratory acidosis due to chronic CO₂ retention from inadequate alveolar ventilation. While the kidneys compensate by increasing bicarbonate retention, the pH usually remains low or near normal in chronic cases rather than becoming elevated. A higher pH would indicate alkalosis, which is not typical in COPD unless there is an additional metabolic disturbance.
C. Increased carbon dioxide: COPD causes airway obstruction and reduced alveolar ventilation, leading to CO₂ retention (hypercapnia). As CO₂ accumulates in the blood, it lowers the pH, resulting in respiratory acidosis. Chronic hypercapnia is a hallmark of advanced COPD, and in response, the kidneys retain bicarbonate to partially compensate, stabilizing the pH over time but leaving PaCO₂ elevated.
D. Decreased alveolar function: While COPD does lead to progressive alveolar damage and reduced gas exchange, this is a structural and functional change rather than a specific abnormality seen in arterial blood gases. The primary ABG finding in COPD is hypercapnia, which reflects inadequate ventilation and CO₂ retention rather than just decreased alveolar function alone.