ATI LPN
Introduction of Respiratory System NCLEX Questions PN Questions
Question 1 of 5
A 45-year-old man has smoked two packs of cigarettes per day for 20 years. For the past 4 years, he has had chronic cough with copious mucoid expectoration. During the past year, he has had multiple respiratory tract infections diagnosed as 'viral flu'. He has also developed difficulty breathing, tightness of the chest, and audible wheezing. His breathing difficulty is relieved by inhalation of B-adrenergic agonist and disappears after the chest infection has resolved. Which of the following pathologic conditions is most likely responsible for his clinical condition?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Chronic asthmatic bronchitis (C) fits this smoker's profile (Page 28, Ans: C). Chronic bronchitis (cough >3 months, 2 years) from smoking (40 pack-years) plus nonatopic asthma (wheezing, B-agonist relief) post-viral infections explains symptoms . AAT deficiency (A) causes panacinar emphysema, no bronchoconstriction. Centriacinar emphysema (B) lacks wheezing prominence. Cystic fibrosis (D) starts in childhood, not midlife. C's dual pathology mucus hypersecretion (100 mL/day) and hyperreactivity distinguishes it from A's genetic basis or B's pure obstruction, per document.
Question 2 of 5
A 28 year old woman with cystic fibrosis presents with increasing shortness of breath and production of abundant foul-smelling sputum. The sputum in this patient is most likely associated with which of the following pulmonary condition?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Bronchiectasis (B) links to cystic fibrosis sputum . CFTR mutation thickens mucus , dilating bronchi (100 mL/day). Atelectasis (A) collapses. Emphysema (C) is dry. Pneumothorax (D) lacks sputum. B's infection unlike C's dryness is typical, per document.
Question 3 of 5
Which of these symptoms is common is all COPDs?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Dyspnea (A) is common in all COPD . Airflow obstruction raises work of breathing (RR >20). Dry cough (B) fits emphysema. Recoil loss (C) is emphysema-specific. Coexistence (D) varies. A's universality unlike C's specificity holds, per document.
Question 4 of 5
Most of the oxygen being transported by blood:
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Oxygen is reversibly bound to haemoglobin (C) . Haemoglobin in RBCs (5 billion/mL) carries 98% of O2 (20 mL/dL), binding 4 molecules/O2 via iron. Plasma (A) holds 2%. Glucose (B) isn't an O2 carrier. Heartbeat energy (D) uses ATP, not O2 directly. C's capacity unlike A's minor role ensures tissue delivery, per physiology.
Question 5 of 5
In the presence of active surfactants, all of the following are expected to decrease EXCEPT?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Surfactant lowers alveolar surface tension (C) from 30 dynes/cm to 5, reducing collapse tendency (A) and work of breathing. Lung compliance (B) increases (normal 0.2 L/cm H2O to 0.5), not decreases, as expansion eases. In 300 million alveoli, surfactant's dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine stabilizes, countering Laplace's law (P = 2T/r). B's rise unlike A's or D's fall enhances ventilation efficiency, per physiology (Q29).