Chapter 17: Respiratory Emergencies JB

Bronchitis differs from pneumonia in that pneumonia typically presents with:

A fever and chills

Approximately 2 weeks following a total hip replacement, a 70-year-old female complains of a sudden onset of dyspnea and pleuritic chest pain. Your assessment reveals perioral cyanosis, blood-tinged sputum, and wheezing to the base of her right lung. As your partner applies high-flow oxygen, the patient states that she has a history of hypertension. What should you suspect?

A pulmonary embolism

A 20-year-old female presents with acute respiratory distress. Alscultation of her lungs reveals diffuse expiratory wheezing. She is in Moderate distress and tells you that she has a prescribe inhaler that she uses when this happens. You should suspect:

An acute asthma attack

Characteristics of adequate breathing in an adult include all of the following, except.

Asymmetrical chest movement

Which of the following physiologic processes occurs during pulmonary respiration?

Carbon dioxide diffuses into the alveoli.

A 56-year-old male complains of difficulty breathing. His wife tells you that he complained of chest discomfort a few days prior, but would not allow her to call EMS. Your assessment reveals rales in the apices and bases of both lungs. This patient's clinical presentation is most consistent with:

Cardiogenic pulmonary edema

You are dispatched to the home of a 64-year-old male patient with lung cancer. The patient complains of acute dyspnea; however, as long as he is sitting upright, his breathing is easier. He denies fever, and his breath sounds are decreased over the base of the left lung. What is the most likely cause of this patient's symptoms?

Collection of fluid outside of the lung

Common side effects of inhaled medications used for acute shortness of breath include all of the following, except.

Hypotension

Which of the following physiologic processes does not occur in patients with COPD?

Increased surfactant production

Which of the following is the most accurate clinical definition of chronic bronchitis?

Productive cough for 3 months per year for 2 consecutive years

A 70-year-old male presents with an acute onset of difficulty breathing that woke him from his sleep. He has a history of hypertension, atrial fibrillation, and several heart attacks. During your assessment, you note dried blood around his mouth. The patient tells you that he cannot lie down because he will "smother." What additional assessment findings will you most likely discover?

Pulmonary rales

Cheyne-Stokes respirations are characterized by:

Rapid and slow breathing with alternating apenic periods.

Which of the following statements most accurately describes asthma?

Reversible obstruction caused by bronchospasm, mucus production, and edema.

The Hering-Breuer reflex is defined as:

a feedback loop that inhibits the inspiratory center, which prevents overexpansion of the lungs.

Definitive treatment to reduce acute respiratory distress in a patient with a pleural effusion involves:

a fluid thoracentesis

Approximately 20 minutes after receiving a penicillin injection at the doctor's office, a 41-year-old female presents with acute respiratory distress, facial swelling, and intense itching to her entire body. Her level of consciousness is decreased and her breathing is labored with minimal chest rise. The most appropriate treatment for this patient should include

assisted ventilations, IV of normal saline, and epinephrine.

When treating a patient who complains of dyspnea, it is important for the AEMT to:

be prepared to treat the patient's anxiety as well

You are transporting a 60-year-old male to the hospital for suspected COPD exacerbation. He is receiving 100% oxygen via a nonrebreathing mask. As you reassess him, you note that his respirations have decreased and have become shallow. You should:

begin assisting his ventilations

Chronic carbon dioxide retention, as seen in patients with certain lung diseases, may cause the patient to:

breathe on the basis of decreased oxygen

A 61-year-old female called EMS after suddenly being awakened in the middle of the night with a feeling that she was "smothering." You arrive to find the patient, very apprehensive and restless, sitting on the living room couch in obvious respiratory distress. Her BP is 160/90 mm Hg, pulse is 110 beats/min and irregular, and respirations are 24 breaths/min and labored. Auscultation of her lungs reveals diffuse rhonchi in all fields. Treatment for this patient should include:

continuous positive airway pressure and an IV line set to keep the vein open.

The movement and utilization of oxygen in the body is dependent on all of the following, EXCEPT:

effective alveolar-capillary osmosis.

In cases of pulmonary edema, diffusion is impaired primarily because of:

fluid filled alveoli

More carbon dioxide diffuses out of the bloodstream when:

fresh oxygen diffuses into the alveoli.

When assisting a patient with his or her prescribed inhaler, it is important to:

have the patient exhale deeply prior to inhaling the medication.

A 30-year-old male presents with respiratory distress that began within minutes of being exposed to an unknown chemical at an industrial site. When caring for this patient, it is most important to remember that.

he must be properly decontaminated first

In contrast to an epidemic, a pandemic:

is a disease outbreak that occurs on a global scale.

A 59-year-old female with a history of poorly controlled hypertension becomes acutely dyspneic, develops profound cyanosis to the upper chest, and becomes unresponsive. She is pulseless and apneic upon your arrival. As you and your partner are performing the appropriate treatment interventions, you discuss the possible cause of her condition, which is most likely a(n):

massive pulmonary embolism

You are dispatched for an elderly male with dyspnea. When you arrive, you find the patient sitting in a chair. He is semiconscious and unable to effectively communicate with you. As you perform a primary survey, your partner applies 100% oxygen and a pulse oximeter, which reads 85%. The most reliable indicator of cerebral hypoxia in this patient is his:

mental status alteration.

Typical signs and symptoms of pneumonia include:

pleuritic chest pain, fever, and rhonchi.

The exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide, at the cellular level or in the lungs, is called:

respiration

What acid-base derangement initially occurs in a tachypneic patient without a physiologic demand for increased oxygen?

respiratory alkalosis

Patients with COPD are highly susceptible to pneumonia because:

they cannot effectively expel infected pulmonary secretions

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

ventilation