ATI LPN
Exam Questions on Respiratory System Questions
Question 1 of 5
What would be a priority nursing intervention for a child with bronchiolitis?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: High-Fowler's (C) is priority for bronchiolitis, per document (implied 3). Upright (60°) eases RSV dyspnea (RR >40), improving O₂ (SpO₂ >92%). Stimulation (A) worsens distress. I&O (B) monitors, not intervenes. Fluids (D) risk aspiration if tachypneic. C's positioning Vt up 20% directly aids breathing, unlike B's tracking, per AAP guidelines.
Question 2 of 5
Which of the following describes a correct order of structures in the respiratory passageways?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: The correct respiratory passageway order is pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchi, bronchioles. Air enters via nose/mouth to the pharynx (throat), passes the larynx (voice box), enters the trachea (windpipe), splits into bronchi (lung branches), then bronchioles (smaller airways) before alveoli. Other sequences misorder: trachea before larynx (C) or bronchioles before bronchi (B) defy anatomy; pharynx-to-trachea skips larynx (A). This flow pharynx to larynx to trachea to bronchi to bronchioles conditions air and directs it for gas exchange, a foundational pathway in respiratory anatomy, critical for airway management and pathology localization.
Question 3 of 5
The nurse is planning to teach a client with COPD how to cough effectively. Which of the following instructions should be included?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Effective coughing in COPD conserves energy, clears secretions, and prevents airway collapse. Option A three deep abdominal breaths, bending forward, coughing with 'who' (huff cough) enhances expiration by increasing airway pressure, keeping passages open, and mobilizing mucus. Sitting upright with feet grounded optimizes lung expansion; pursed-lip breathing aids control. Lying flat (B) restricts expansion, splinting limits force. Rapid, shallow breaths and forceful coughing (C) tire the client and collapse airways, trapping secretions. Side-lying with arm overhead (D) doesn't maximize chest mechanics. The huff technique, repeated 3-4 times, leverages diaphragm strength, critical for COPD patients with weakened respiratory muscles, improving secretion clearance and reducing infection risk.
Question 4 of 5
A nurse instructs a client to use the pursed lip method of breathing. The client asks the nurse about the purpose of this type of breathing. The nurse responds, knowing that the primary purpose of pursed lip breathing is:
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Pursed-lip breathing's primary purpose is to promote carbon dioxide (COâ‚‚) elimination (D) in obstructive lung diseases like COPD. By pursing lips, exhalation slows, increasing airway pressure to keep alveoli open longer, expelling trapped COâ‚‚ countering hypercapnia from air trapping. It doesn't directly boost oxygen intake (A) that's secondary to better ventilation. It aids diaphragm effort but doesn't strengthen it (B) or intercostals (C) those are exercise goals. This technique, prolonging expiration, relieves dyspnea, a critical self-management tool in COPD nursing education, enhancing gas exchange and reducing respiratory distress.
Question 5 of 5
A 48-year-old man has gradually increasing dyspnea and 4-kg weight loss over the past 2 years. He has smoked two packs of cigarettes per day for 20 years, but not for the past year. Physical examination shows an increase in the anteroposterior diameter of the chest. Auscultation of the chest shows decreased breath sounds. A chest radiograph shows bilateral hyperlucent lungs; the lucency is especially marked in the upper lobes. Pulmonary function tests show that FEV1 is markedly decreased, FVC is normal, and the FEV1/FVC ratio is decreased. Which of the following is most likely to contribute to the pathogenesis of his disease?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Release of elastase from neutrophils (D) drives this smoker's centriacinar emphysema . Smoking (40 pack-years) recruits neutrophils, releasing elastase that degrades alveolar walls (300 million to 150 million), causing air trapping (FEV1/FVC <70%). Hyperlucency and barrel chest reflect loss of elastic recoil . Chloride transport (A) is cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis, not emphysema. Ciliary defects (B) cause bronchiectasis in Kartagener's. AAT deficiency (C) yields panacinar emphysema, less common, not upper-lobe dominant. D's unchecked elastase smoking boosts it 10-fold contrasts A's mucus issue or C's genetic rarity, per pathology texts.