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The Lab

Disease states

Tension Pneumothorax · Obstructive Shock

Right-sided tension pneumothorax restricts venous return and pulmonary flow, causing low output and hypotension despite elevated measured right atrial pressure.

Overview

Select Tension Pneumothorax · Obstructive Shock under Clinical controls → Hemodynamic state. The bold italic live label confirms the active selection. These are the preset’s teaching features; combined disease, rate and interventions can change the resulting numbers.

Right-sided tension pneumothorax restricts venous return and pulmonary flow, causing low output and hypotension despite elevated measured right atrial pressure.

Tachycardia, narrow arterial pulse pressure and weak pleth reflect reduced stroke volume.

Measured RAP can rise despite poor ventricular filling; PAWP is not necessarily elevated. No pulmonary edema is assumed from this lesion alone.

The CXR depicts a collapsed right lung with pleural air and leftward mediastinal displacement. Tension is a clinical emergency: treatment must not wait for imaging.

Successful chest-tube decompression removes this obstructive component. Other diseases remain; positive-pressure ventilation can worsen untreated tension physiology. Numeric values are illustrative, not diagnostic cutoffs.

Step by step

  1. Reset interventions if you want the untreated example.
  2. Select the condition and inspect the pressure summary and relevant waveforms.
  3. Pause for annotations; add one intervention or loading change to compare the response.

References & further reading

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