ATI LPN
NCLEX PN Questions Respiratory System Questions
Question 1 of 5
Compared to a normal individual, a patient with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, one of the following is expected to be more than normal?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) raises pulmonary vascular resistance (B) via alveolar scarring. TLC (A) drops (~4 L vs. 6 L) due to restriction. FEV1 (C) decreases, but FEV1/FVC stays normal (Q1). PaO2 (D) falls (~60 mmHg) from diffusion impairment. B's increase capillary compression, hypoxic vasoconstriction strains the right heart (Q10), unlike A's or C's restrictive decline, per IPF pathology.
Question 2 of 5
Which person would be expected to have the largest PAO2-PaO2 gradient?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Pulmonary fibrosis (B) maximizes PAO2-PaO2 gradient. Normal PAO2 ~100 mmHg, PaO2 ~95 mmHg (gradient ~5 mmHg); exercise (A) narrows it (perfusion rises). Fibrosis thickens diffusion barrier (0.2 to 1 μm), dropping PaO2 (~60 mmHg, Q10), widening gradient (~40 mmHg). Anemia (C) lowers O2 content, not gradient. Altitude (D) cuts both PAO2 and PaO2 (~60 mmHg), gradient ~5-10 mmHg. B's diffusion limit unlike A's efficiency drives the largest gap, per physiology (Q55).
Question 3 of 5
All of the following lab-values are consistent with Pulmonary fibrosis except?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Pulmonary fibrosis doesn't increase RV. RV drops (~1 L vs. 1.2 L) due to restriction (Q13). FEV1/FVC is normal/high (A, > 80%, Q1), vascular resistance rises (B, Q10), and peak flow may hold (C) if volume-corrected. Fibrosis stiffens lungs (compliance < 0.1 L/cm H2O), shrinking TLC (< 6 L), not trapping air. D's increase unlike A's ratio opposes restrictive physiology (Q71).
Question 4 of 5
Causes of interstitial lung disease include:
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Interstitial lung disease (ILD) has multiple causes, making all of these' correct. Chemical/physical irritants (A) e.g., asbestos, silica trigger fibrosis via chronic inflammation. Sarcoidosis (C) forms granulomas, scarring interstitium. Alveolar proteinosis (B), though rarer, involves surfactant accumulation, impairing gas exchange, often linked to dusts or autoimmunity. Options D (A & C) omits B, but all contribute irritants via direct damage, sarcoidosis via immune response, proteinosis via alveolar dysfunction. ILD's diverse etiology, from environmental to idiopathic, reduces lung compliance and diffusion capacity, key in diagnosis (e.g., biopsy, CT), guiding therapy like steroids or lavage, a broad respiratory pathology spectrum.
Question 5 of 5
Of the following disease, the one in which a marked Leucocytosis is most likely to be found is:
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Lobar pneumonia (A) most likely shows marked leucocytosis bacterial infection (e.g., Streptococcus pneumoniae) drives neutrophil counts high (e.g., 15,000-20,000/mm³) as an acute response. Atypical pneumonia (B viral, Mycoplasma) has normal or mild elevation. Tuberculosis (C) may show lymphocytosis, not marked leucocytosis, unless severe. Influenza (D) often depresses counts. Sarcoidosis features granulomas, not neutrophil surges. Lobar's bacterial consolidation lobar opacity on x-ray triggers this, key in differentiating from chronic or viral etiologies, guiding antibiotic therapy in respiratory nursing.