Brunner & Suddarth's Textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing 13th Edition by Kerry Cheever, Janice Hinkle

Exercise 4

A 58-year-old patient with metastatic lung cancer returns to the clinic for follow-upcare. He tells you that he has been unable to button his collar, his wedding ring is tootight to remove, and he becomes short of breath when reclining at night. Describe theunderlying pathology that can lead to the signs and symptoms of superior vena cavasyndrome. Identify your assessment parameters with this patient. What will you tellthe patient about the likely procedures that he will need to diagnose superior venacava syndrome? Describe the medical and nursing management strategies that will beused for this patient.