Alterations in respiratory status have been identified as important predictors of clinical deterioration in hospitalized patients.

Cyanosis is a reliable and early sign of hypoxia.

Lungs with decreased compliance require greater-than-normal energy expenditure by the patient to achieve normal levels of ventilation.

On assessment, the nurse would describe coarse crackles as discontinuous popping sounds heard in early inspiration.

The Venturi mask is the most reliable and accurate method for delivering a precise concentration of oxygen through noninvasive means.

Oxygen toxicity may occur when too high a concentration of oxygen (greater than 50%) is administered for an extended period (generally longer than 48 hours).

The need for oxygen is assessed by arterial blood gas analysis, pulse oximetry, and clinical evaluation.

After a pneumonectomy, a patient should be turned every hour from the back to the operative side and should not be completely turned to the unoperated side.

The water level in the water seal chamber of a chest drainage system reflects the negative pressure present in the intrathoracic cavity.

A serious complication of a group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal infection is rheumatic fever.

Viruses, the most common cause of URIs, affect the upper respiratory passages and lead to subsequent mucous membrane inflammation.

Immediate management of a nosebleed involves insertion of cotton pledgets into the nose to reduce blood flow.

Almost all malignant tumors of the larynx arise from the surface epithelium and are classified as squamous cell carcinoma.

Esophageal speech is the most widely used communication technique for patients who have undergone laryngectomy.

Tachypnea, dyspnea, and mild-to-moderate hypoxemia are hallmarks of the severity of atelectasis.

Antibiotics are the initial medical treatment of choice in viral upper respiratory tract infections and pneumonia.

Adequate treatment of upper respiratory tract infection is one of the major factors in the prevention of acute bronchitis.

The major cause of death in ARDS is nonpulmonary multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, often with sepsis.

Adenocarcinoma is the rarest carcinoma of the lung in both men and women; it occurs peripherally as peripheral masses or nodules and often metastasizes.

The pathophysiology of emphysema involves destruction of the walls of the alveoli leading to impaired oxygen diffusion.

Smoking cessation is the single most cost-effective intervention to reduce the risk of developing COPD and to stop its progression.

Administering oxygen to patients with COPD will result in cardiopulmonary arrest by suppressing the drive to breathe.

Asthma is considered a distinct, separate disorder from COPD and is classified as an abnormal airway condition characterized primarily by reversible inflammation.

Bronchospasm, which occurs in many pulmonary diseases, reduces the caliber of the small bronchi and may cause dyspnea, static secretions, and infection.