Chapter 39: Oxygenation and Perfusion
A health care provider orders the collection of a sputum specimen from a client with a suspected bacterial infection. Which action best ensures a usable specimen?
Instruct the client to inhale deeply and then cough.
The nurse is teaching the client with a pulmonary disorder about deep breathing. The client asks, "Why is it important to start by breathing through my nose, then exhaling through my mouth?" Which appropriate response would the nurse give this client?
"Breathing through your nose first will warm, filter, and humidify the air you are breathing."
The nurse is preparing discharge teaching for a client who has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Which teaching about deep breathing will the nurse include?
"Inhale slowly over three seconds, purse your lips, contract abdominal muscles, and exhale slowly."
In which client should the nurse prioritize assessments for respiratory depression?
A client taking opioids for cancer pain.
A nurse is reading a journal article about pollutants and their effect on an individual's respiratory function. Which problem would the nurse most likely identify as an effect of exposure to automobile pollutants?
Bronchitis
The nurse auscultates a client with soft, high-pitched popping breath sounds on inspiration. The nurse documents the breath sounds heard as:
Crackles
The nurse is caring for a client who has been prescribed humidified oxygen at 6 L/minute. Which type of liquid will the nurse gather to set up the humidifier?
Distilled water
A nurse is caring for a client who breathes very shallowly and has been reporting severe back pain. What suggestion could the nurse make to help the client breathe efficiently?
Encourage the client to take deep breaths.
A nurse is performing CPR on a client who collapsed. Which guidelines should be used for this procedure? Select all that apply.
Position the client supine on his or her back. Use the head tilt-chin lift maneuver to open the airway. Rest elbows on the flat surface under the client, grasp the angle of the client's lower jaw, and lift with both hands.
The nurse is caring for a postoperative client who has a prescription for meperidine 75 mg intramuscularly (IM) every 4 hours as needed for pain. Before and after administering meperidine, the nurse would assess which most important sign?
Respiratory rate and depth
The nurse is performing an arterial blood gas sampling on a client at 10:45. The nurse educator intervenes if which action is taken by the nurse?
The nurse performs the Allen test after blood sample is taken.
The nurse working in the intensive care unit is preparing to admit a client from the emergency department who had a stroke located in the medulla. What equipment should the nurse have present in the room upon the client's arrival into the unit? Select all that apply.
Ventilator Pulse oximeter
The nurse is assessing a newborn in the nursery. The nurse notes the infant has episodes in which breathing ceased for 20 seconds on 2 occasions. The nurse correctly recognizes this condition as:
apnea
A client has been put on oxygen therapy because of low oxygen saturation levels in the blood. What should the nurse use to regulate the amount of oxygen delivered to the client?
flow meter
The nurse is caring for a client admitted for a mild exacerbation of asthma who has been prescribed portable oxygen at 2 L/min. What delivery device will the nurse select to apply oxygen to the client?
nasal cannula
The nurse is demonstrating oxygen administration to a client. Which teaching will the nurse include about the humidifier?
"Small water droplets come from this, thus preventing dry mucous membranes."
Which dietary guideline would be appropriate for the older adult homebound client with advanced respiratory disease who informs the nurse that she has no energy to eat?
Eat smaller meals that are high in protein.
Which teaching about the humidifier is important for the nurse to provide to a client using oxygen?
It decreases dry mucous membranes via delivering small water droplets.
A client with a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been ordered oxygen at 3 L/min as needed for treatment of dyspnea. What delivery mode is most appropriate to this client's needs?
Nasal cannula
Which guideline is recommended for determining suction catheter depth when suctioning an endotracheal tube?
Using a suction catheter with centimeter increments on it, insert the suction catheter into the endotracheal tube until the centimeter markings on both the endotracheal tube and catheter align, and insert the suction catheter no further than an additional 1 cm.
A nurse is admitting a 6-year-old child after a tonsillectomy to the surgical unit. The nurse obtains the client's weight and places electrocardiogram (EKG) leads on the chest and a pulse oximeter on the left finger. The client's heart rate reads 100 bpm and the pulse oximeter reads 99%. These readings best indicate:
adequate tissue perfusion.
What assessments would a nurse make when auscultating the lungs?
air flow through the respiratory passages
A client returns to the telemetry unit after an operative procedure. Which diagnostic test will the nurse perform to monitor the effectiveness of the oxygen therapy ordered for the client?
pulse oximetry
A client who uses portable home oxygen states, "I still like to smoke cigarettes every now and then." What is the appropriate nursing response?
"You should never smoke when oxygen is in use."
A client who was prescribed CPAP reports nonadherence to treatment. What is the prioritynursing intervention?
Ask the client what factors contribute to nonadherence.
The nurse schedules a pulmonary function test to measure the amount of air left in a client's lungs at maximal expiration. What test does the nurse order?
Residual Volume (RV) Side note - During a pulmonary function test the amount of air left in the lungs at the end of maximal expiration is called residual volume. Tidal volume refers to the total amount of air inhaled and exhaled with one breath. Total lung capacity is the amount of air contained within the lungs at maximum inspiration. Forced expiratory volume measures the amount of air exhaled in the first second after a full inspiration; it can also be measured at 2 or 3 seconds.
The nurse is caring for a client who has had a percutaneous tracheostomy (PCT) following a motor vehicle accident and has been prescribed oxygen. What delivery device will the nurse select that is most appropriate for this client?
tracheostomy collar
A client's primary care provider has informed the nurse that the client will require thoracentesis. The nurse should suspect that the client has developed which disorder of lung function?
Pleural effusion
A client receiving home oxygen calls the telehealth nurse to report that her caretaker removed her oxygen tank from the wheeled carrier. What is the appropriate telehealth nurse response?
"The caregiver will need to place the oxygen tank back into the secure carrier."
A nurse is conducting a physical assessment of a client who is being treated for pleural effusion at a health care facility. The nurse needs the client to exhale additional air, which will allow the nurse to check the quality of the client's oxygenation. What instruction should the nurse give the client?
Contract the abdominal muscles.
The nurse is caring for a client with emphysema who has been prescribed portable oxygen, 2 L/min. Which action(s) does the nurse take to administer low concentrations of oxygen to the client? Select all that apply.
Ensure that the oxygen concentrator is turned on. Confirm that the nasal cannula is worn properly by the client. Verify the oxygen concentrator is set on the prescribed flow rate
A 55-year-old male client with emphysema worked with photography chemicals and smoked cigarettes for 30 years. Which symptom(s) will the nurse expects to find? Select all that apply.
Loss of appetite Chronic cough Wheezing Shortness of breath
A client vomits as a nurse is inserting his oropharyngeal airway. What would be the mostappropriate intervention in this situation?
Remove the airway, turn the client to the side, and provide mouth suction, if necessary.
The air quality index has rated it a red air quality day in the city. Which information will the nurse share with the client about promoting effective respiratory self-care?
Stay indoors as much as possible.
The nurse is caring for a client who is diagnosed with Impaired Gas Exchange. While performing a physical assessment of the client, which data is the nurse likely to find, keeping in mind the client's diagnosis?
high respiratory rate
A child is admitted to the pediatric division with an acute asthma attack. The nurse assesses the lung sounds and respiratory rate. The mother asks the nurse, "Why is his chest sucking in above his stomach? The nurse's most accurate response is:
"He is using his chest muscles to help him breathe."
The nurse is auscultating the lungs of a client and detects normal vesicular breath sounds. What is a characteristic of vesicular breath sounds?
They are low-pitched, soft sounds heard over peripheral lung fields.
A 24-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital for an exacerbation of symptoms related to her cystic fibrosis. During a nurse's assessment of the client, the nurse notices a bluish color around her lips. What is the client exhibiting in this scenario?
cyanosis Side note - Cyanosis around the lips indicates serious hypoxemia. Cyanosis is caused by a desaturation of oxygen on the hemoglobin in the blood.
The client is reporting to the nurse that the continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) mask is torture. What is the best response from the nurse?
Tell me more about why it bothers you.
A nurse assessing a client's respiratory effort notes that the client's breaths are shallow and 8 per minute. Shortly after, the client's respirations cease. Which form of oxygen delivery should the nurse use for this client?
Ambu bag Side note - If the client is not breathing with an adequate rate and depth, or if the client has lost the respiratory drive, a manual resuscitation bag (Ambu bag) may be used to deliver oxygen until the client is resuscitated or can be intubated with an endotracheal tube. Oxygen masks may cover only the nose and mouth and can vary in the amount of oxygen delivered. A nasal oxygen cannula is a device that consists of a plastic tube that fits behind the ears, and a set of two prongs that are placed in the nostril. An oxygen tent is a tentlike enclosure within which the air supply can be enriched with oxygen to aid a client's breathing. Oxygen masks, nasal cannula, and oxygen tents are used for clients who have a respiratory drive.
The nurse assesses a client and detects the following findings: difficulty breathing, increased respiratory and pulse rates, and pale skin with regions of cyanosis. What condition would the nurse suspect as causing these respiratory alterations?
Hypoxia Side note - Hypoxia is a condition in which an inadequate amount of oxygen is available to cells. Difficulty breathing, increased respiratory and pulse rates, and pale skin with regions of cyanosis are all signs of hypoxia. Hyperventilation is an increased rate and depth of ventilation, above the body's normal metabolic requirements. Perfusion refers to the process by which oxygenated capillary blood passes through body tissues. Atelectasis refers to collapsed alveoli.
