Respiratory Emergencies

Question 1

“PASTE” is an alternate assessment tool for ____

Answer 1

Respiratory patients

Question 2

A pleural effusion is MOST accurately defined as:

Answer 2

Fluid accumulation outside of the lung

Question 3

A 30-year-old male presents with acute shortness of breath, widespread hives, and facial swelling. He denies any past medical history and takes no medications. During your assessment, you hear wheezing over all the lung fields. His blood pressure is 90/50 mm Hg and his heart rate is 110 beats/min. In addition to giving him high-flow oxygen, the MOST important treatment for this patient is:

Answer 3

Epinephrine

Question 4

A 59-year-old male with a history of emphysema complains of an acute worsening of his dyspnea and pleuritic chest pain following a forceful cough. Your assessment reveals that he has a barrel-shaped chest, inilaterally diminished breath sounds, and tachycardia. What is the MOST likely cause of this patient’s condition?

Answer 4

Spontaneous Pneumothorax

Question 5

Asthma is caused by a response of the:

Answer 5

Immune system

Question 6

Crackles (rales) are caused by ____

Answer 6

Air passing through fluid

Question 7

His parents tell you that their son has had a chest infection for the past two days and when they took him to their family doctor, they were told it was likely due to the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). They have kept him well hydrated, but the infection seems to have gotten worse. On auscultation, you hear decreased air entry bilaterally with fine expiratory wheezes and the occasional coarse wet crackle. Based on this information, your patient is most likely suffering from:

Answer 7

Bronchiolitis

Question 8

In order for efficient pulmonary gas exchange to occur:

Answer 8

Oxygen and carbon dioxide must be able to freely diffuse across the alveolar - capillary membrane

Question 9

In what area of the lungs does respiration occur?

Answer 9

Alevoil

Question 10

Medications encased in a gelatin shell that are taken by mouth are called:

Answer 10

Capsules

Question 11

When auscultating the lungs of a patient with respiratory distress, you hear adventitious sounds. This means that the patient has:

Answer 11

Abnormal breath sounds

Question 12

Which of the following conditions would be LEAST likely to result in hypoxia?

Answer 12

Severe anxiety

Question 13

Which of the following is most characteristic of adequate breathing?

Answer 13

24 breathes/min with bilaterally equal breath sounds and pink skin

Question 14

Which of the following must be assessed in every respiratory patient?

Answer 14

Lung sounds

Question 15

While auscultating an elderly woman’s breathe sounds, you hear low-pitched “rattling” sounds at the bases of both of her lungs. This finding is MOST consistent with which of the following conditions?

Answer 15

Aspiration pneumonia

Question 16

You are assessing an asthma patient with his prescribed metered-dose inhaler. After the patient takes a deep breath and depresses the inhaler, you should:

Answer 16

Instruct him to hold his breath for as long as he comfortably can

Question 17

You are attending to a 3-year-old male patient who is presenting with severe shortness of breath. His parents report that he has had a cough and cold with a low grade fever for the past two days. They became worried today, as his level of distress has increased dramatically. On assessment, the patient is sitting upright and making high-pitched noises with each breath. Based on this information, the patient is most likely suffering from:

Answer 17

Viral infection of the upper respiratory tract

Question 18

You are attending a 54-year-old female patient in a homeless shelter. The patient tells you that she had the flu a couple of weeks ago, and she has not gotten over it. She has been tired and keeps waking up at night, sweating. She has been coughing up green sputum occasionally and has been experiencing episodes of chest pain that get worse when she breathes. Based on this information, your patient most likely is suffering from:

Answer 18

Tuberculosis

Question 19

You are dispatched to a state park for a young female experiencing an allergic reaction. Your assessment reveals that her breathing is severely labored and her blood pressure is very low. You carry epinephrine auto-injectors on your ambulance and have been trained and approved by your medical director to administer them. As your partner gives the patient supplemental oxygen, you attempt to contact medical control but do not have a signal from your cell phone. You should:

Answer 19

Administer epinephrine to the patient, begin immediate transport, and attempt to contact medical control en route to the hospital.

Question 20

Your patient has a chronic respiratory condition. His stimulus to breathe is triggered by low oxygen levels in the blood. This is known as the _____

Answer 20

Hypoxic drive

Question 21

The buildup of excess acid in the blood or body tissues that results from a primary illness

Answer 21

Acidosis

Question 22

Abnormal breath sounds such as wheezing, stridor, rhonchi, and crackles

Answer 22

Adventitious breath sounds

Question 23

The buildup of excess base (lack of acids) in the body fluids

Answer 23

Alkalosis

Question 24

A substance that causes an allergic reaction

Answer 24

Allergen

Question 25

An extreme, life-threatening systemic allergic reaction that may include shock and respiratory failure

Answer 25

Anaphylaxis

Question 26

An acute spasm of the smaller air passages, called bronchioles, associated with excessive mucus production and with swelling of the mucous lining of the respiratory passages

Answer 26

Asthma

Question 27

Collapse of alveolar air spaces of the lungs

Answer 27

Atelectasis

Question 28

Normal breath sounds are made by air moving through the bronchi

Answer 28

Bronchial breath sounds

Question 29

Inflammation of the bronchioles that usually occurs in children younger than 2 years and is often caused by the respiratory syncytial virus

Answer 29

Bronchiolitis

Question 30

An acute or chronic inflammation of the lung that may damage lung tissue; usually associated with cough and production of sputum and, depending on its cause, sometimes fever

Answer 30

Bronchitis

Question 31

A condition characterized by a chronically high blood level of carbon dioxide in which the respiratory center no longer responds to high blood levels of carbon dioxide

Answer 31

Carbon dioxide retention

Question 32

An odorless, colorless, tasteless, and highly poisonous gas that results from incomplete oxidation of carbon in combustion

Answer 32

Carbon monoxide

Question 33

Irritation of the major lung passageways from infectious disease or irritants such as smoke

Answer 33

Chronic bronchitis

Question 34

A lung disease characterized by chronic obstruction of lung airflow that interferes with normal breathing and is not fully reversible

Answer 34

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)