A nurse is caring for a client who has hypokalemia. Which of the following findings should the nurse associate with hypokalemia?

A. Hypothermia: Pneumonia typically presents with fever rather than hypothermia. Fever is a common response to infection and inflammation.

B. Bradycardia: Pneumonia usually causes tachycardia rather than bradycardia. Tachycardia is a compensatory response to improve oxygen delivery to tissues.

C. Pulse deficit: A pulse deficit is not a common finding in pneumonia. It is more associated with conditions like atrial fibrillation.

D. Tachypnea: Tachypnea, or rapid breathing, is a common sign of pneumonia. It reflects the body’s attempt to improve oxygenation and compensate for impaired gas exchange.

A. Impaired carbon dioxide elimination due to shunting: In ARDS, shunting can impair oxygenation but not directly carbon dioxide elimination. Shunting refers to blood flow through areas of the lung that are not ventilated properly, primarily affecting oxygenation.

B. Decreased pulmonary arterial pressure due to ventilation-perfusion (V/Q) mismatch: ARDS is typically associated with increased, not decreased, pulmonary arterial pressure due to the inflammatory process and reduced lung compliance. V/Q mismatch in ARDS usually results in elevated pulmonary arterial pressure.

C. Hypoxemia due to dead space: ARDS hypoxemia results from impaired gas exchange in damaged alveoli rather than dead space, which is more related to ventilation without perfusion.

D. Decreased pulmonary compliance due to stiffness: ARDS is characterized by decreased pulmonary compliance, which is due to the stiffening of lung tissue from inflammation and edema. This stiffness makes lung expansion more difficult and is a key feature of ARDS.