Chapter 20: Assessment of Respiratory Function

The nurse is assessing the lungs of a patient diagnosed with pulmonary edema. Which of the following would be expected upon auscultation?

Crackles at lung bases

The nurse enters the room of a client who is being monitored with pulse oximetry. Which of the following factors may alter the oximetry results?

Diagnosis of peripheral vascular disease

A nurse is concerned that a client may develop postoperative atelectasis. Which nursing diagnosis would be most appropriate if this complication occurs?

Impaired gas exchange

A patient describes his chest pain as knife-like on inspiration. Which of the following is the most likely diagnosis?

Pleurisy

During a preadmission assessment, the nurse finds increased tactile fremitus. She knows this sign is consistent with which of the following diagnoses?

Pneumonia

The nurse is caring for a client who is to undergo a thoracentesis. In preparation for the procedure, the nurse places the client in which position?

Sitting on the edge of the bed

The nurse is admitting a client who just had a bronchoscopy. Which assessment should be the nurse's priority?

Swallow reflex

A client experiences a head injury in a motor vehicle accident. The client's level of consciousness is declining, and respirations have become slow and shallow. When monitoring a client's respiratory status, which area of the brain would the nurse realize is responsible for the rate and depth?

The pons

A nurse is discussing squamous epithelial cells lining each alveolus, which consist of different types of cells. Which type of alveolar cells produce surfactant?

Type II cells

A nurse is preparing a client with a pleural effusion for a thoracentesis. The nurse should:

assist the client to a sitting position on the edge of the bed, leaning over the bedside table.

A client with newly diagnosed emphysema is admitted to the medical-surgical unit for evaluation. Which does the nurse recognize as a deformity of the chest wall that occurs as a result of overinflation of the lungs in this client population?

Barrel chest

Which of the following clinical manifestations should a nurse monitor for during a pulmonary angiography, which indicates an allergic reaction to the contrast medium?

Difficulty in breathing

A client has a nursing diagnosis of "ineffective airway clearance" as a result of excessive secretions. An appropriate outcome for this client would be which of the following?

Lungs are clear on auscultation.

A nurse caring for a patient with a pulmonary embolism understands that a high ventilation-perfusion ratio may exist. What does this mean for the patient?

Ventilation exceeds perfusion.

What is the difference between respiration and ventilation?

Ventilation is the movement of air in and out of the respiratory tract.