airway management quiz questions

Question 1

You are performing mouth-to-mask ventilations with oxygen connected and set at a flow rate of 15 L/min. What percentage of oxygen is your patient receiving?

Select one:

a. 45%
b. 55%
c. 65%
d. 75%

Answer 1

55%

Question 2

You are ventilating a patient with a stoma; however, air is escaping from the mouth and nose. To prevent this, you should:

Select one:

a. thrust the jaw forward.
b. seal the mouth and nose.
c. ventilate with less pressure.
d. thoroughly suction the stoma.

Answer 2

seal the mouth and nose.

Question 3

A patient who is suspected of being hypoxic and is breathing adequately should be given supplemental oxygen with a:

Select one:

a. nasal cannula.
b. nonrebreathing mask.
c. bag-valve mask.
d. mouth-to-mask device.

Answer 3

nonrebreathing mask.

Question 4

Which of the following patients is breathing
adequately?

Select one:
a. A conscious male with respirations of 19
breaths/min and pink skin
b. A conscious female with facial cyanosis and
rapid, shallow respirations
c. A conscious male with respirations of 18
breaths/min and reduced tidal volume
d. An unconscious 52-year-old female with snoring respirations and cool, pale skin

Answer 4

a conscious male with respirations of 19 breaths/min and pink skin.

Question 5

Which of the following is the MOST reliable indicator of adequately performed bag-valve mask ventilations in an apneic adult with a pulse?

Select one:
a. Twenty breaths/min being delivered to the adult
b. Decreased compliance when squeezing the bag
c. Consistently increasing heart rate
d. Adequate rise of the chest when squeezing the
bag

Answer 5

adequate rise of the chest when squeezing the bag

Question 6

Which of the following statements regarding oxygen is correct?

Select one:
a. Oxygen cylinders must always remain in an
upright position.
b. Oxygen is flammable and may explode if under
high pressure.
c. Oxygen supports the combustion process and may
cause a fire.
d. Oxygen is most safely administered in an
enclosed environment.

Answer 6

Oxygen supports the combustion process and may cause a fire.

Question 7

Which of the following structures is NOT found in the upper airway?

Select one:

a. Larynx
b. Pharynx
c. Bronchus
d. Oropharynx

Answer 7

bronchus.

Question 8

The physical act of moving air into and out of
the lungs is called:

Select one:

a. diffusion.
b. ventilation.
c. respiration
d. oxygenation.

Answer 8

ventilation.

Question 9

Irregular respirations characterized by an increasing rate and depth of breathing followed by periods of apnea are called:

Select one:

a. ataxic respirations
b. agonal respirations.
c. eupneic respirations
d. Cheyne-Stokes respirations.

Answer 9

Cheyne-Stokes respirations.

Question 10

What occurs when a patient is breathing very
rapidly and shallowly?

Select one:

a. Minute volume increases because of a marked increase in both tidal volume and respiratory rate.
b. Air moves primarily in the anatomic dead space and does not participate in pulmonary gas exchange.
c. Air is forcefully drawn into the lungs due to the negative pressure created by the rapid respirations.
d. The majority of tidal volume reaches the lungs and diffuses across the alveolar–capillary membrane.

Answer 10

Air moves primarily in the anatomic dead space and does not participate in pulmonary gas exchange.

Question 11

In which of the following patients would the head tilt–chin lift maneuver be the MOST appropriate method of opening the airway?

Select one:
a. A 24-year-old male who is found unconscious at the base of a tree
b. A 37-year-old female who is found unconscious in her bed
c. A 45-year-old male who is semiconscious after
falling 20 feet
d. A 50-year-old male who is unconscious following
head trauma

Answer 11

A 37-year-old female who is found unconscious in her bed.

Question 12

A man was found unresponsive in his bed at home.
There is no evidence of injury and the patient’s medical history is not known.
The patient’s face is cyanotic, yet the pulse oximeter reads 98%. Which of the
following would MOST likely explain this?

Select one:

a. Severe pulmonary edema
b. Carbon monoxide poisoning
c. His extremities are cold
d. Increased body temperature

Answer 12

carbon monoxide poisoning.

Question 13

Which of the following statements regarding
breathing adequacy is correct?

Select one:
a. Patients with a grossly irregular breathing
pattern usually do not require assisted ventilation.
b. The single most reliable sign of breathing
adequacy in the adult is his or her respiratory rate.
c. Patients breathing shallowly may require assisted ventilation despite a normal respiratory rate.
d. A patient with slow respirations and adequate depth will experience an increase in minute volume.

Answer 13

Patients breathing shallowly may require assisted ventilation despite a normal respiratory rate.

Question 14

Which of the following patients should you place
in the recovery position?

Select one:
a. A 19-year-old conscious male with a closed head
injury and normal respirations
b. A 24-year-old unconscious female who overdosed
and has a reduced tidal volume
c. A 31-year-old semiconscious male with low blood
sugar and adequate breathing
d. A 40-year-old conscious female with a possible
neck injury and regular respirations

Answer 14

A 31-year-old semiconscious male with low blood sugar and adequate breathing.

Question 15

Which of the following statements regarding
normal gas exchange in the lungs is correct?

Select one:
a. The oxygen content in the alveoli is highest during the exhalation phase.
b. Oxygen and carbon dioxide diffuse across the
alveolar walls and capillaries.
c. The actual exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide
occurs in the capillaries.
d. Blood that returns to the lungs from the body
has low levels of carbon dioxide

Answer 15

Oxygen and carbon dioxide diffuse across the alveolar walls and capillaries.

Question 16

How does CPAP improve oxygenation and ventilation in patients with certain respiratory problems?

Select one:
a. It forces the alveoli open and pushes oxygen
across the alveolar membrane.
b. It pushes thick, infected pulmonary secretions
into isolated areas of the lung.
c. It decreases intrathoracic pressure, which
allows more room for lung expansion.
d. It prevents alveolar collapse by pushing air
into the lungs during inhalation.

Answer 16

It forces the alveoli open and pushes oxygen across the alveolar membrane.

Question 17

When testing a mechanical suctioning unit, you
should turn on the device, clamp the tubing, and ensure that it generates a
vacuum pressure of more than:

Select one:

a. 100 mm Hg.
b. 200 mm Hg
c. 300 mm Hg
d. 400 mm Hg.

Answer 17

300 mm Hg

Question 18

A 19-year-old female is found unconscious by her roommate. Your primary assessment reveals that her breathing is inadequate. As you insert an oropharyngeal airway, she begins to gag violently. You should:

Select one:
a. continue to insert the airway as you suction her
oropharynx
b. remove the airway and be prepared to suction her
oropharynx.
c. insert the airway no further but leave it in
place as a bite block.
d. select a smaller oropharyngeal airway and
attempt to insert it.

Answer 18

remove the airway and be prepared to suction her oropharynx.

Question 19

The nasopharyngeal airway is MOST beneficial
because it:

Select one:
a. can effectively stabilize fractured nasal bones
if it is inserted properly
b. is generally well tolerated in conscious
patients with an intact gag reflex.
c. effectively maintains the airway of a patient in
cardiopulmonary arrest.
d. can maintain a patent airway in a semiconscious
patient with a gag reflex.

Answer 19

can maintain a patent airway in a semiconscious patient with a gag reflex.

Question 20

During your assessment of a patient with respiratory distress, you hear wheezing when listening to breath sounds. This indicates:

Select one:

a. fluid in the alveoli.
b. secretions in the airway.
c. a lower airway obstruction.
d. swelling of the upper airway.

Answer 20

a lower airway obstruction.