Which of the following is NOT a pulmonary complication of immobility?

Which of the following is NOT a pulmonary complication of immobility?

• A. Atelectasis
• B. DVT
• C. Pneumonia
• D. Decreased ventilation

Answer: (B)

When someone is immobile, the way the lungs work is directly affected: less chest expansion and weaker cough mean you don’t ventilate portions of the lungs as well, so secretions can pool and the airspaces may collapse. This makes atelectasis more likely. With poor ventilation and impaired clearance of mucus, the line between infection risk and actual infection rises, so pneumonia can develop. Decreased ventilation is essentially the result of reduced movement and effort to take deep breaths, which leaves the lungs under-ventilated. Deep vein thrombosis, on the other hand, is a clotting problem in the veins of the legs from venous stasis due to immobility. It isn’t a direct pulmonary complication itself, though a dislodged clot can travel to the lungs and cause a pulmonary embolism. So DVT is not a pulmonary complication by itself, whereas atelectasis, pneumonia, and decreased ventilation are direct pulmonary issues linked to immobility.

When someone is immobile, the way the lungs work is directly affected: less chest expansion and weaker cough mean you don’t ventilate portions of the lungs as well, so secretions can pool and the airspaces may collapse. This makes atelectasis more likely. With poor ventilation and impaired clearance of mucus, the line between infection risk and actual infection rises, so pneumonia can develop. Decreased ventilation is essentially the result of reduced movement and effort to take deep breaths, which leaves the lungs under-ventilated.

Deep vein thrombosis, on the other hand, is a clotting problem in the veins of the legs from venous stasis due to immobility. It isn’t a direct pulmonary complication itself, though a dislodged clot can travel to the lungs and cause a pulmonary embolism. So DVT is not a pulmonary complication by itself, whereas atelectasis, pneumonia, and decreased ventilation are direct pulmonary issues linked to immobility.