RESP FAILURE & ARDS NCLEX EXAM
QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT ANSWERS
LATEST UPDATE
A patient with a severe acute asthma exacerbation presents to the emergency
department. Over the next hour, the patient remains in respiratory distress, but
the respirations have slowed. What is the best explanation?
A. The patient is developing respiratory muscle fatigue.
B. The respirations are exchanging oxygen and carbon dioxide more efficiently.
C. The patient's anxiety level is lessening.
D. The body has compensated by retaining sodium bicarbonate. --CORRECT
ANSWER--A. The patient is developing respiratory muscle fatigue.
A rapid respiratory rate requires a substantial amount of work. Change from a
rapid rate to a slower rate in a patient in acute respiratory distress suggests
extreme progression of respiratory muscle fatigue and increased probability of
respiratory arrest. Ventilatory exchange, without other indications of
improvement, is decreased. As long as the patient is in distress, there is no
evidence that anxiety would lessen, and hypoxia would increase anxiety.
Compensation through the renal system takes days.
Which patient is having the most difficulty breathing?
A. The patient who reports one-pillow orthopnea
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, B. The patient with an inspiratory to expiratory ratio of 1:2
C. The patient who speaks a sentence before breathing
D. The patient with paradoxic breathing --CORRECT ANSWER--D. The
patient with paradoxic breathing
Paradoxic breathing indicates severe distress. The thorax and abdomen normally
move outward on inspiration and inward on exhalation. During paradoxic
breathing, the abdomen and chest move in the opposite manner, and the pattern
results from maximal use of the accessory muscles of respiration. Orthopnea,
measured by the number of pillows needed to breathe comfortably, is associated
with the use of one to four pillows. One pillow indicates a minor condition.
Normal inspiratory to expiratory ratio is 1:2. Speaking in sentences before
having to take a breath indicates mild or no distress.
Which signs and symptoms differentiate hypoxemic respiratory failure from
hypercapnic respiratory failure (select all that apply)?
A. Cyanosis
B. Tachypnea
C. Morning headache
D. Paradoxic breathing
E. Pursed-lip breathing --CORRECT ANSWER--A. Cyanosis
B. Tachypnea
D. Paradoxic breathing
Clinical manifestations that occur with hypoxemic respiratory failure include
cyanosis, tachypnea, and paradoxic chest or abdominal wall movement with the
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QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT ANSWERS
LATEST UPDATE
A patient with a severe acute asthma exacerbation presents to the emergency
department. Over the next hour, the patient remains in respiratory distress, but
the respirations have slowed. What is the best explanation?
A. The patient is developing respiratory muscle fatigue.
B. The respirations are exchanging oxygen and carbon dioxide more efficiently.
C. The patient's anxiety level is lessening.
D. The body has compensated by retaining sodium bicarbonate. --CORRECT
ANSWER--A. The patient is developing respiratory muscle fatigue.
A rapid respiratory rate requires a substantial amount of work. Change from a
rapid rate to a slower rate in a patient in acute respiratory distress suggests
extreme progression of respiratory muscle fatigue and increased probability of
respiratory arrest. Ventilatory exchange, without other indications of
improvement, is decreased. As long as the patient is in distress, there is no
evidence that anxiety would lessen, and hypoxia would increase anxiety.
Compensation through the renal system takes days.
Which patient is having the most difficulty breathing?
A. The patient who reports one-pillow orthopnea
Page 1 of 13
, B. The patient with an inspiratory to expiratory ratio of 1:2
C. The patient who speaks a sentence before breathing
D. The patient with paradoxic breathing --CORRECT ANSWER--D. The
patient with paradoxic breathing
Paradoxic breathing indicates severe distress. The thorax and abdomen normally
move outward on inspiration and inward on exhalation. During paradoxic
breathing, the abdomen and chest move in the opposite manner, and the pattern
results from maximal use of the accessory muscles of respiration. Orthopnea,
measured by the number of pillows needed to breathe comfortably, is associated
with the use of one to four pillows. One pillow indicates a minor condition.
Normal inspiratory to expiratory ratio is 1:2. Speaking in sentences before
having to take a breath indicates mild or no distress.
Which signs and symptoms differentiate hypoxemic respiratory failure from
hypercapnic respiratory failure (select all that apply)?
A. Cyanosis
B. Tachypnea
C. Morning headache
D. Paradoxic breathing
E. Pursed-lip breathing --CORRECT ANSWER--A. Cyanosis
B. Tachypnea
D. Paradoxic breathing
Clinical manifestations that occur with hypoxemic respiratory failure include
cyanosis, tachypnea, and paradoxic chest or abdominal wall movement with the
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