A 75-year-old patient is breathing at a rate of 30 and denies dyspnea. The breath sounds are clear to auscultation in all five lobes. The nurse will further assess the patient's respiratory and circulatory systems by checking capillary refill. A normal finding would be

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A normal capillary refill time is less than 3 seconds, but in older adults it can range up to 5 seconds. Pink nail beds indicate adequate circulation, so the combination of pink nail beds and a capillary refill time of 5 seconds is a normal finding for an older adult patient. Nail beds that are cyanotic or blanched may indicate poor circulation.

A 75-Year-Old Patient Is Breathing at a Rate of 30