FISDAP Patient Assessment 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which breath sound, heard on auscultation, is described as a high-pitched, monophonic wheeze heard primarily on expiration and indicates upper airway obstruction?
- Crackles
- Rhonchi
- Stridor (Correct answer)
- Wheezing
Correct answer: Stridor
Stridor is a high-pitched sound caused by turbulent airflow through a partially obstructed upper airway.
Question 2: You are assessing a trauma patient and notice that a segment of the chest wall moves inward during inhalation and outward during exhalation. This is called:
- Kussmaul breathing
- Paradoxical chest movement (Correct answer)
- Cheyne-Stokes respiration
- Agonal breathing
Correct answer: Paradoxical chest movement
Paradoxical chest movement occurs with flail chest, where multiple rib fractures cause a segment to move opposite to the rest of the chest wall.
Question 3: Which of the following is the MOST reliable early indicator of shock in a pediatric patient?
- Hypotension
- Tachycardia (Correct answer)
- Altered mental status
- Absent peripheral pulses
Correct answer: Tachycardia
Tachycardia is the earliest and most reliable compensatory sign of shock in pediatric patients, as hypotension is a late and ominous sign.
Question 4: When using the Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Scale, which of the following is NOT one of the three assessed components?
- Facial droop
- Arm drift
- Pupil reactivity (Correct answer)
- Abnormal speech
Correct answer: Pupil reactivity
The Cincinnati Stroke Scale assesses facial droop, arm drift, and speech abnormalities; pupil reactivity is not part of this tool.
Question 5: A patient with a history of COPD presents with increased work of breathing, pursed-lip breathing, and barrel chest. These findings are associated with which underlying condition?
- Asthma
- Emphysema (Correct answer)
- Pneumonia
- Pulmonary edema
Correct answer: Emphysema
Barrel chest and pursed-lip breathing are classic chronic physical findings of emphysema, a component of COPD caused by air trapping.
Question 6: During assessment of a patient in respiratory distress, you note tracheal deviation to the right. This MOST likely indicates:
- Right-sided pleural effusion
- Left-sided tension pneumothorax (Correct answer)
- Bilateral pneumonia
- Right-sided atelectasis
Correct answer: Left-sided tension pneumothorax
A left-sided tension pneumothorax creates pressure that pushes the trachea and mediastinum toward the right.
Question 7: When assessing a patient using the AVPU scale, a patient who only responds to a sternal rub would be classified as:
- Alert
- Verbal
- Pain (Correct answer)
- Unresponsive
Correct answer: Pain
AVPU 'P' indicates the patient responds only to painful stimuli, such as a sternal rub or pinch.
FISDAP Patient Assessment 3
Which breath sound, heard on auscultation, is described as a high-pitched, monophonic wheeze heard primarily on expiration and indicates upper airway obstruction?