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Respiratory Emergencies Flashcards

7 cards from real CPEN practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Respiratory Emergencies flashcards as text

  1. A 3-year-old presents with sudden onset of unilateral wheezing and decreased breath sounds on the right. The most likely diagnosis is:

    Answer: Foreign body aspiration

    Sudden unilateral wheezing with decreased breath sounds in a toddler is classic for foreign body aspiration, which commonly lodges in the right mainstem bronchus.

  2. When calculating the correct endotracheal tube size for a child aged 6 years using the uncuffed formula, the result is:

    Answer: 5.0 mm

    The uncuffed ETT formula is (age/4) + 4, so for a 6-year-old: (6/4) + 4 = 5.5; however the cuffed formula (age/4 + 3.5) gives 5.0 mm, which is now preferred — select 5.0 for cuffed.

  3. A child with epiglottitis is most likely to assume which position to maximize airway patency?

    Answer: Tripod (sniffing) position

    Children with epiglottitis instinctively sit in the tripod (sniffing) position — leaning forward with neck extended — to open the supraglottic airway.

  4. Which finding most strongly differentiates viral croup from bacterial tracheitis?

    Answer: High fever with toxic appearance

    Bacterial tracheitis presents with high fever, toxic appearance, and rapid deterioration — distinguishing it from the milder, viral presentation of croup.

  5. A 7-week-old infant presents with a 2-week history of post-tussive emesis and inspiratory 'whoop.' The priority intervention is:

    Answer: Place on contact and droplet precautions and start azithromycin

    Pertussis in young infants is life-threatening; isolation (droplet precautions) and azithromycin are the priority interventions.

  6. During bag-mask ventilation of a pediatric patient, the BEST indicator of adequate ventilation is:

    Answer: Chest rise visible with each breath

    Visible, symmetric chest rise with each ventilation is the most immediate and reliable clinical indicator of adequate bag-mask ventilation.

  7. A 10-year-old with known asthma has an initial PEFR of 40% predicted after two albuterol treatments. This classifies the exacerbation as:

    Answer: Severe

    A PEFR of 40–69% predicted after initial treatment is classified as a moderate exacerbation; below 40% indicates severe — this patient at 40% sits at the severe threshold.