A patient is being evaluated for surgery. The therapist hears rales in the lung bases and notes prominent swelling of the ankles. She presses a finger into the edema and notices that a depression remains when she lifts her finger away. The depression is clearly visible for slightly more than 1 min. This would be classified as pitting edema:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Pitting edema is graded based on the depth and duration of the indentation. A depression that remains for more than 1 minute is typically classified as 3+ pitting edema.

A Patient Is Being Evaluated for Surgery