I'm working on a care plan for a theoretical pt who has pneumonia as demonstrated by low Spo2 less than 75% on room air. (They are on O2 by nasal cannula obviously =) So...I'm a little stuck on labs for this pt. Definetely want to assess WBC - as it will indicate infection. Hgb to assess O2 in the blood? What about BUN and Creatinine? BUN because of metabolic acidosis? As you can see...I'm a bit lost on this...Any help in getting me back on track would be greatly appreciated.
Just curious, did they tell you that the pt had pneumonia, or are you just assuming that the the pt has pneumonia because the the O2 sat is low? Because unless they told you that the pt had pneumonia, your approach to the clinical situation may be kind of different.
They told us the medical dx is pneumonia and hypoxia. SpO2 on room air is less than 75%. On ordered O2 by nasal cannula, the sp02 shoots up to 99%-100%. After about 30 seconds of removing the nasal cannula, the sp02 drops to below 75 %.
As you can see...I'm a bit lost on this...Any help in getting me back on track would be greatly appreciated. 
NewBeee
43 Posts
They told us the medical dx is pneumonia and hypoxia. SpO2 on room air is less than 75%. On ordered O2 by nasal cannula, the sp02 shoots up to 99%-100%. After about 30 seconds of removing the nasal cannula, the sp02 drops to below 75 %.