RespiratoryFlail Chest & Rib Fx
Pathophysiology
Signs & Symptoms:
Deadly Complications
Interventions
• Broken ribs typically result after any major trauma: Car accident, falls & the like.
• Flail chest: a segment of the rib cage completely breaks & becomes detached from the rest of the chest wall, a life-threatening medical emergency.
• Paradoxical chest wall movement (key sign) The ribs sort of sucks INward during inspiration & floats out during expiration
• Extreme chest pain • Shallow respirations
• High risk for infection Pneumonia is very common • Hypercapnic respiratory failure from High CO2 retention, putting the body in an acidotic state.
1. Priority = Pain Control
2. Pulmonary hygiene only AFTERPain is controlled
YES - Administer prescribedOpioids
Morphine
TCDB - Turn, cough, deepbreathing IS - Incentive Spirometerto re - expand the lungs& preventing atelectasis
Hydromorphone Hydrocodone
FFUNKY CHEST
WALL MOVEMENT
FFLAIL CHEST
Memory Trick:
1st PRIORITY
Paradoxicalchest wallmovement