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Respiratory Emergencies Flashcards

6 cards from real CEN practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 6 Respiratory Emergencies flashcards as text

  1. A patient is intubated and the ventilator alarms for high peak airway pressure. Breath sounds are absent on the left. What is the most likely cause?

    Answer: Right mainstem intubation

    Right mainstem intubation is common because the right bronchus is less angled; it causes absent breath sounds on the left and increased peak airway pressures.

  2. Which clinical criterion is NOT part of the Berlin Definition of ARDS?

    Answer: A high BNP level confirming cardiac cause

    The Berlin Definition requires bilateral opacities, P/F ratio < 300, respiratory failure within 1 week of insult, and exclusion of cardiac cause—it does not require a high BNP.

  3. A 65-year-old patient post-knee replacement develops sudden dyspnea, tachycardia, and hypoxia. ECG shows sinus tachycardia with an S1Q3T3 pattern. What is the most appropriate initial diagnostic test?

    Answer: CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA)

    CTPA is the gold-standard imaging test for diagnosing pulmonary embolism in a high-probability patient with the clinical and ECG findings described.

  4. What is the appropriate size (French) for a chest tube inserted for a hemothorax?

    Answer: 28–32 Fr or larger tube

    A large-bore chest tube (28–32 Fr or larger) is required for hemothorax to allow adequate drainage of blood and prevent clotting of the tube.

  5. Which ventilator strategy is recommended to reduce lung injury in ARDS patients?

    Answer: Tidal volume of 6 mL/kg ideal body weight with permissive hypercapnia

    Lung-protective ventilation in ARDS uses low tidal volumes of 6 mL/kg IBW to reduce volutrauma, allowing permissive hypercapnia as tolerated.

  6. A patient with epiglottitis is in the ER. She is drooling, sitting upright, and has inspiratory stridor. What is the most important initial action?

    Answer: Keep the patient calm and upright; prepare for definitive airway in the OR

    Epiglottitis can cause complete airway obstruction if agitated; keeping the patient calm and moving to the OR for controlled intubation or tracheotomy is the safest approach.