A new patient was admitted and has been diagnosed with pneumonia
- A new patient was admitted and has been diagnosed with pneumonia. The patient has an oxygen saturation of 87% on 2 L/min nasal cannula. Which of the following would cause the patient to be hypoxemic? 1. Capillary shunting 2. Diffusion defect 3. Alveolar consolidation 4. Hypoventilation Select all that apply: A. 1 and 2 B. 2 and 3 C. 1 and 3 D. All of the above To get this one right, you have to have a basic understanding of pneumonia. For the TMC Exam, I want you to always remember that consolidation is associated with pneumonia. So automatically we know that alveolar consolidation is one of the correct answers. Hypoxemia in pneumonia patients is also related to capillary shunting as well. That is because, if the alveoli are filled with fluid (consolidation), perfusion will not occur as the oxygen passes through, causing hypoxemia. A diffusion defect is found in patients with pulmonary fibrosis— not pneumonia. Patients with pneumonia will show signs of hyperventilation, not hypoventilation, so we can rule that one out as well. So by using what we know about pneumonia, as well as the process of elimination, we know that the correct answer has to be C. The correct answer is: C. 1 and 3
