bloody sputum

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I was taking care of a pt with a diagnosis of pneumothorax who had a chest tube in. When I was trying to leave, pt told me that she has been coughing up some bloody sputum. I contacted my charge nurse and told me to leave a note for the MD. And that's exactly what I did.

My question is that is it normal for the above mentioned pt to cough up some bloody sputum?

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

What does your textbook say about chest tube/pneumothorax tube placement and resultant s/sx?

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I did look in my textbook and did google search, but no luck with the answer I am looking for. The text talks about the bubbling, but nothing about the bloody sputum.

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Specializes in Clinicals in Med-Surg., OB, CCU, ICU.

The question should have been asked when the patient exhibited the signs, and not when one is home. Why would the patient not have bloody sputum? :mad:

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Specializes in Clinicals in Med-Surg., OB, CCU, ICU.

The lung is being smashed...The capillaries would be smashed too which would create quite a lot of pressure--blood would leak. Bingo... bloody sputum.

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Thank you.

I guess I was just worrying for no reason.

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If it was myself I would have made a ring to the MD. Noted s/s like that (bloody, froathy, increased in a mount, etc) should definitely be called to the MD... ESPECIALLY if it's a change in patient condition.

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