Which of the following is a characteristic of a patient with emphysema?

A patient with emphysema typically presents with a barrel chest, which is a characteristic physical finding. This occurs due to the chronic overexpansion of the lungs, which flattens the diaphragm and increases the anterior-posterior diameter of the chest. The compensatory changes associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), of which emphysema is a part, lead to this lung hyperinflation and structural change in the chest wall.

In emphysema, patients often experience difficulty in exhaling, leading to trapped air in the lungs. As a result, this can alter the shape of the chest as these changes become more pronounced over time. Recognizing a barrel chest in a patient can indicate the presence of emphysema or other forms of COPD, guiding appropriate clinical management and treatment strategies. Other symptoms like a productive cough or high fever are not characteristic of emphysema, as the cough tends to be non-productive in later stages, and fever is generally associated with infections rather than chronic lung diseases. Swelling of the extremities is also not a typical finding in emphysema, as this condition primarily affects the respiratory system rather than causing peripheral edema.