Home › Cheat Sheets › Physiological Adaptation

COPD — NCLEX Cheat Sheet

Chronic airflow obstruction
🔖 Save
👤 By the CinnaRN Clinical Content Team 🕐 Updated 2026-07-11 🏷️ Physiological Adaptation 🔖 Free to read, print, and share
Emphysema in COPD: normal versus over-distended, damaged alveoli
Emphysema in COPD: normal versus over-distended, damaged alveoli. Illustration: BruceBlaus via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0.
💡

Use this quick-reference guide to spot, treat, and prevent COPD on the NCLEX. Keep it handy during review and on exam day!

🩺
🩺

Signs

What to look for
✅

Do

Nursing actions
📌

Avoid

Key facts
🧪

Meds

Key numbers
✨

Quick Tip

Dyspnea, chronic productive cough, prolonged expiration, wheezing.

📖 Related Topics

HypokalemiaHyperkalemiaHyponatremiaHeart Failure
Was this helpful? ✎ Suggest an edit

Master COPD with practice, not just reading

4,700+ NCLEX-style questions with rationales, 51 interactive NGN cases, and an AI tutor — free every day, no card needed.

Practice Physiological Adaptation questions free →

Related Physiological Adaptation cheat sheets

HypokalemiaK+ < 3.5 mEq/L HyperkalemiaK+ > 5.0 mEq/L HyponatremiaNa+ < 135 mEq/L Heart FailurePump fails → congestion Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA)Glucose > 250, pH < 7.35 HypoglycemiaGlucose < 70 mg/dL Sepsis and Septic ShockInfection → organ failure Pregnancy-Induced HypertensionBP ≥ 140/90 after 20 wks