A nurse is caring for a client diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia. The client reports feeling short of breath and the nurse auscultates crackles in the lung bases bilaterally. Which clinical finding would the nurse recognize as an early sign of a pulmonary complication in this client?
- Bradycardia with a heart rate of 52 beats per minute
- Peripheral edema in the lower extremities
- Elevated serum potassium level of 5.8 mEq/L
- Dyspnea or the presence of crackles on auscultation