Question

The nurse is assessing the lungs of a patient diagnosed with pneumonia. Which of the following would be expected upon auscultation?

1) Decreased breath sounds
2) Crackles
3) Wheezing
4) Rhonchi

Answer 1

In the case of pneumonia, health care providers expect to hear crackles during auscultation, along with other possible lung sounds such as decreased breath sounds and rhonchi, depending on the condition of the alveoli and airways.

Step-by-step explanation:

During the assessment of a patient with pneumonia, a health care provider would expect to find specific signs upon auscultation of the lungs. One of the characteristic findings would be crackles, which are a series of short, explosive sounds. Crackles are usually heard during the inhalation phase of breathing and are typically caused by the popping open of small airways and alveoli that are collapsed by fluid accumulation, a common feature in pneumonia. Other potential findings might include decreased breath sounds due to fluid-filled alveoli reducing air entry or rhonchi, which are lower-pitched sounds that may be cleared with coughing. While wheezing is typically associated with narrowed airways, as seen in conditions such as asthma, it is less specific for pneumonia unless the pneumonia is complicating an underlying airway disease.