Nursing Education Site
Respiratory Nursing Diagnoses & Care Plans
Respiratory disorders are a major focus in NCLEX prep and clinical practice, and nurses must rapidly identify breathing problems and plan safe, effective care.
This page brings together our respiratory nursing diagnoses and care plans so you can quickly find assessment cues, nursing interventions, and rationales for the most common pulmonary conditions.
How to use this respiratory care‑plan guide
Start with the list of individual respiratory diagnoses and care plans below (COPD, asthma, pneumonia, ARDS, mechanical ventilation, pleural effusion, etc.).
Open each care plan to review: definition, causes, signs and symptoms, nursing assessment findings, priority interventions with rationales, and expected outcomes.
Use the examples as a study guide for NCLEX and as a reference when developing care plans in clinical settings.
Respiratory nursing diagnoses included:
Impaired Gas Exchange is the NANDA-I nursing diagnosis for an excess or deficit in oxygenation and/or carbon dioxide elimination at the alveolar-capillary membrane. You see it as low oxygen (hypoxemia), high carbon dioxide (hypercapnia), or both: a falling SpO2, abnormal arterial blood gases, restlessness or confusion, fast breathing, and a fast heart rate. Common causes … See Nursing Diagnoses
Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis that spreads through the air and most often affects the lungs. Many people carry it as latent TB infection, which causes no symptoms and is not contagious; active TB disease causes cough, fever, night sweats, and weight loss and can spread to others. The nursing … See Nursing Diagnoses
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) affects millions of patients worldwide and represents one of the most common respiratory conditions nurses encounter in both acute and community settings. As a progressive, irreversible disease that combines chronic bronchitis and emphysema, COPD requires comprehensive nursing assessment, evidence-based interventions, and patient-centered care planning. This guide provides nursing students and … See Nursing Diagnoses
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory respiratory disease affecting over 25 million Americans and remains one of the most common conditions nurses encounter across all care settings. As an experienced ER nurse, I’ve seen firsthand how quickly asthma exacerbations can escalate from mild wheezing to life-threatening respiratory failure. Understanding asthma nursing diagnosis, implementing evidence-based interventions, and … See Nursing Diagnoses
Pulmonary edema is a life-threatening condition where fluid accumulates in the lungs’ air sacs, leading to impaired gas exchange and breathing difficulty. It often develops suddenly and requires prompt nursing assessment and intervention. There are two main forms of pulmonary edema: cardiogenic (due to heart problems like left-sided heart failure or myocardial infarction) and noncardiogenic … See Nursing Diagnoses