Respiratory Care Flashcards
7 cards from real MSNCB practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Respiratory Care flashcards as text
A patient with asthma is admitted with severe bronchospasm. Which medication class is the first priority treatment?
Answer: Short-acting beta-2 agonists (e.g., albuterol)
Short-acting beta-2 agonists provide rapid bronchodilation and are the cornerstone of acute asthma exacerbation management.
A nurse assesses paradoxical breathing in a trauma patient. This pattern is MOST consistent with which condition?
Answer: Flail chest
Flail chest occurs when multiple rib fractures create a free-floating segment that moves inward during inhalation and outward during exhalation (paradoxical movement).
Which arterial blood gas result is consistent with metabolic alkalosis with respiratory compensation?
Answer: pH 7.50, PaCO2 50, HCO3 38
Metabolic alkalosis shows elevated pH and HCO3; the body compensates by hypoventilating (retaining CO2), raising PaCO2.
A patient with a tracheostomy tube has cuff pressure measured at 32 cmH2O. The nurse's priority action is to:
Answer: Deflate the cuff slightly to achieve 20–25 cmH2O
Cuff pressure should be maintained at 20–25 cmH2O; pressures above 25 cmH2O impair tracheal mucosal perfusion and risk tracheal necrosis.
The nurse suspects a patient has developed a pulmonary embolism. Which combination of findings best supports this suspicion?
Answer: Sudden dyspnea, pleuritic chest pain, and tachycardia
The classic PE triad includes sudden-onset dyspnea, pleuritic chest pain, and tachycardia, reflecting acute obstruction of pulmonary vasculature.
A patient is receiving a continuous albuterol nebulization treatment. Which side effect requires the nurse to notify the physician?
Answer: Serum potassium of 2.8 mEq/L with cardiac dysrhythmia
Beta-2 agonists drive potassium into cells, causing hypokalemia; severe hypokalemia with dysrhythmias is a life-threatening complication requiring immediate physician notification.
A patient on a ventilator has a sudden high-pressure alarm with decreased breath sounds on the left. The nurse's immediate action is to:
Answer: Assess for right mainstem bronchus intubation or pneumothorax
High-pressure alarm with unilateral absent breath sounds indicates either ET tube migration into the right mainstem bronchus or left-sided pneumothorax, both requiring urgent assessment.