A nurse assesses a client with pericarditis. Which assessment finding would the nurse expect to find?

Pericarditis is characterized by inflammation of the pericardial sac, leading to friction between the visceral and parietal layers. This condition often results in pleuritic chest pain that improves when the patient leans forward, and it requires careful monitoring for the development of fluid accumulation or tamponade. A. A pericardial friction rub is the hallmark physical finding of acute pericarditis. It is a high-pitched, scratchy sound produced by the inflamed layers of the pericardium rubbing together. It is best heard with the diaphragm of the stethoscope at the left lower sternal border while the patient leans forward. B. A heart rate that speeds up and slows down, often related to respiration, describes sinus arrhythmia. While patients with pericarditis may have tachycardia due to pain or anxiety, a cyclical variation in heart rate is not a specific diagnostic indicator of pericardial inflammation. It is usually a benign physiological finding. C. Coarse crackles in the bilateral lung bases are suggestive of pulmonary edema or heart failure rather than primary pericarditis. While severe pericarditis can lead to heart failure if it becomes chronic or constrictive, crackles represent alveolar fluid and are not an expected finding in uncomplicated acute pericardial inflammation. D. Muffled heart sounds and neck vein distention (Beck s triad) are classic signs of cardiac tamponade, which is a life-threatening complication of pericarditis. While tamponade involves the pericardium, these specific signs indicate significant fluid accumulation (effusion) that is compressing the heart, rather than simple inflammation of the layers.