why is this a sign of overhydration?

What were the lung sounds and urine output? How were the I's vs. O's? What where their baseline vitals preop? Those vitals are just pieces of the picture.

Could it be the sweating and the breathing. Fighting to breathe with all that excess fluid?

It could be a lot of things, even pain, we need more information. Lung sounds? Pulse ox? Pain level? Age? Underlying diagnoses?

With that information only, the only thing that'd make me think fluid overload would be the RR. The HR depends on too many things- it could be fluid overload, but it could also be fever/pain/hypovolemia. The RR makes me think there might be fluid in the lungs and impair o2/co2 exchange and cause the ^RR.

Take a look at this site to determine the answer to your question

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3689/is_200001/ai_n8899118

Mashamontago, please critically think for yourself and do your own homework. You aren't going to be able to ask a forum of nurses what to do when your post-op patient is crashing before your eyes.

Maybe she/he should do their own homework but it is kind of a hard question and might be fun to try to answer. My theory as to why those s/s could indicate overhydration is: BP is well WNL but since they're post-op the different medications/anesthesia may keep their BP from shooting up, the increased pulse and resp maybe d/t hemodilution and a compensatory response to the lack of O2 the the heart/body tissues, and the diaphoresis I don't really have a good mechanism for but it makes sense that if you're fluid overloaded you would sweat rather than not. I'm still a student myself so take it for what it's worth and maybe you can see at least one way to evaluate clinical simulation type thing like this by digging into the physiology behind it.

a post op patient has a BP of 112/72, an increased HR, diaphoretic, and RR 29....

wouldn't this be a sign of dehydration?

You tell me. Why would these be s/s of dehydration as opposed to fluid overload?

Do you suppose the OP is getting y'all to do her homework for her? The last 8 threads she's started look very much like homework questions.

I agree with this...especially since you don't have to go any further than Wikipedia to get this question answered.

Post-op? Diaphoresis? Tachycardia? Sounds more like compensated shock to me.

Maybe she/he should do their own homework but it is kind of a hard question and might be fun to try to answer. My theory as to why those s/s could indicate overhydration is: BP is well WNL but since they're post-op the different medications/anesthesia may keep their BP from shooting up, the increased pulse and resp maybe d/t hemodilution and a compensatory response to the lack of O2 the the heart/body tissues, and the diaphoresis I don't really have a good mechanism for but it makes sense that if you're fluid overloaded you would sweat rather than not. I'm still a student myself so take it for what it's worth and maybe you can see at least one way to evaluate clinical simulation type thing like this by digging into the physiology behind it.

I am sorry but I am having a hard time following this reply and reasoning. Fluid overload and sweating? And I am not going to pitch in on homework!