Nursing Care Plan for Bronchopneumonia
Also searched as: bronchial pneumonia
🎓 Educational example. Adapt to your patient and have your instructor review it. Not medical advice.
A lung infection that produces patchy, bilateral inflammation centered on the bronchioles and surrounding alveoli, rather than the single contiguous lobe affected by lobar pneumonia. Nursing care targets airway clearance, oxygenation, and resolution of the underlying infection.
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Assessment
- Subjective: productive cough, dyspnea, fatigue, chest discomfort
- Objective: scattered crackles and rhonchi across multiple lung fields, low SpO₂, fever, tachypnea, patchy bilateral infiltrates on chest imaging
Nursing diagnoses
As evidenced by: low SpO₂, dyspnea, scattered abnormal breath sounds
As evidenced by: productive cough, crackles heard in more than one lung field
Goals / expected outcomes
- The patient will maintain SpO₂ within the ordered target throughout each shift.
- The patient will demonstrate effective coughing with clearer breath sounds within 24 to 48 hours.
Nursing interventions & rationale
| Intervention | Rationale |
|---|---|
| Auscultate all lung fields and monitor respiratory rate and SpO₂ at regular intervals. | Because the inflammation is patchy and bilateral, breath sounds and oxygenation can vary from one region to the next, so a full-field check catches localized decline that a single-site check would miss. |
| Administer supplemental oxygen and antibiotics as prescribed. | Corrects hypoxemia while the antibiotics treat the underlying bacterial infection. |
| Encourage coughing, deep breathing, incentive spirometry, and frequent repositioning side to side. | Mobilizes secretions across the multiple affected segments and helps re-expand areas that would otherwise stay poorly aerated. |
| Promote adequate hydration, rest, and nutrition. | Thins secretions and supports the energy and immune response the body needs to clear the infection. |
Evaluation
- SpO₂ meets the ordered target
- Breath sounds clearer across previously affected fields
- Temperature trends down toward normal
Sources & further reading
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Bronchopneumonia care plan: FAQ
What is the nursing diagnosis for Bronchopneumonia?
Common nursing diagnoses include: Impaired gas exchange related to widespread alveolar and bronchiolar inflammation; Ineffective airway clearance related to thick secretions in multiple bronchopulmonary segments. Choose the one your patient's assessment data supports.
What are nursing interventions for Bronchopneumonia?
Key interventions: Auscultate all lung fields and monitor respiratory rate and SpO₂ at regular intervals.; Administer supplemental oxygen and antibiotics as prescribed.; Encourage coughing, deep breathing, incentive spirometry, and frequent repositioning side to side., each paired with a rationale.
Can I use this care plan for my assignment?
Use it as a study example and starting draft. Always adapt it to your specific patient and have it reviewed by your instructor. This is an educational tool, not medical advice.
For nursing education only, NOT medical advice and not a clinical decision-making tool. Nothing here should be used to assess, diagnose, or treat any real patient. Care plans and answers are unverified study drafts to review with your instructor or a licensed clinician and adapt to the individual patient and your institution’s protocols before any use.
Last reviewed 2026-07. Educational content based on standard nursing practice; not medical advice and not affiliated with NANDA-I/NIC/NOC. Always follow your institution's protocols and your instructor's guidance.