NREMT Airway, Ventilation, Respiratory Practice

You are ventilating an unresponsive 47-year-old male who is in respiratory arrest. How should you determine that you are delivering adequate tidal volume?

• Auscultate for bronchial breath sounds.

• Fully deflate the BVM.

• Assess his pulse oximetry.

• Look for slight chest rise.

Bystanders tell you that an unresponsive 22-year-old male fell 10 feet off a ladder and landed head first. You hear irregular, gasping respirations and palpate a carotid pulse. You should first:

• apply a cervical collar.

• perform a jaw-thrust maneuver.

• insert a nasopharyngeal airway.

• assess his vital signs.

An afebrile 78-year-old male tells you he woke up unable to catch his breath. He is sitting on the edge of his bed with his legs dependent. You auscultate bilateral wheezes. His vital signs are P 96, R 22, BP 158/80, and SpO2 is 92% on room air. You should suspect:

• congestive heart failure.

• pneumonia.

• pleural effusion.

• emphysema.

A 34-year-old female tells you she has trouble breathing. She has stage three lung cancer and is receiving radiation therapy. You auscultate rhonchi and fine crackles over her right upper chest. Her vital signs are P 88, R 20, BP 118/68, and SpO2 is 92% on room air. You should:

• administer oxygen by nasal cannula.

• assist with the administration of her bronchodilator.

• administer oxygen by non-rebreather mask.

• assist her ventilations with a BVM.

What causes the prolonged expiratory phase of the respiratory cycle in a patient who is having an asthma attack?

• Ruptured blebs

• Bronchiole constriction

• Thick, sticky mucus production

• Pulmonary venous hypertension

An unresponsive 22-year-old male is lying on the ground outside a bar. You do not see any chest rise but palpate a carotid pulse. You should suspect:

• alcohol intoxication.

• respiratory arrest.

• hypoglycemia.

• head injury.

A febrile 37-year-old female who has a history of HIV complains of difficulty breathing. She tells you she has been coughing up yellow phlegm for two days. Her skin is pale and sweaty. You auscultate crackles in her right lower lung. You should suspect:

• pneumonia.

• neoplasm.

• tuberculosis.

• influenza.

A 5-year-old female who has a history of asthma complains of trouble breathing. She is exhaling through pursed lips, and you auscultate wheezes. Her vital signs are P 110, R 32, BP 106/68, and SpO2 is 89% on room air. After administering oxygen, you should next:

• reassess her vital signs.

• assist with the administration of her metered dose inhaler.

• assist her ventilation with a BVM.

• titrate oxygen administration to 94%.

Why are chronic smokers predisposed to spontaneous pneumothorax?

• Their visceral pleura is stretched more within their chest cavity.

• They are more prone to direct trauma to the pleura because of reduced adipose tissue.

• They are more prone to having blebs within the lung parenchyma.

• Their parietal pleura is innervated by more intercostal nerves.

An unresponsive 30-year-old female was the unrestrained driver involved in a car crash. Your partner stabilizes her head and tells you she is breathing and has a carotid pulse. As you examine her airway, you see blood, broken teeth, and hear gurgling sounds. You should first:

• insert an oropharyngeal airway.

• assist her ventilation.

• apply a cervical collar.

• suction her airway.