FREE Paramedics Airway, Respiration, and Ventilation Questions and Answers

Question 1

A 58-year-old male is in cardiac arrest.
After endotracheal intubation, you begin ventilation and monitor waveform capnography.
The initial ETCO2 is 8 mmHg.
Despite high-quality CPR and appropriate ALS interventions, the ETCO2 remains below 10 mmHg for 20 minutes.
What is this finding most indicative of?

Accepted Answer

A low likelihood of achieving Return of Spontaneous Circulation (ROSC).

Answer

Effective chest compressions and good pulmonary blood flow.

Answer

A misplaced endotracheal tube in the esophagus.

Answer

Hyperventilation of the patient.

Question 2

You are ventilating an intubated 70-year-old female with a history of COPD. The ventilator suddenly sounds a high-pressure alarm. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

Bronchospasm or a mucus plug.

Answer

A leak in the ventilator circuit.

Answer

Disconnection of the endotracheal tube from the ventilator.

Answer

Development of hypotension.

Question 3

A paramedic is managing the airway of an 18-month-old in respiratory distress. Which anatomical difference in a pediatric patient is most critical to consider when positioning the airway?

Accepted Answer

The occiput is proportionally larger, causing neck flexion.

Answer

The trachea is narrower and more flexible.

Answer

The tongue is proportionally smaller than in an adult.

Answer

The epiglottis is less flexible and U-shaped.

Question 4

Which of the following is the most reliable sign of adequate artificial ventilation with a bag-valve-mask (BVM)?

Accepted Answer

Equal and visible chest rise and fall with each ventilation.

Answer

The patient's skin color improves from cyanotic to pink.

Answer

Gastric distention is noted.

Answer

The heart rate returns to a normal range.

Question 5

You respond to a 45-year-old male with massive facial trauma after an assault. He is unconscious, breathing agonally, and has significant bleeding in the oropharynx that suctioning cannot control. You are unable to intubate or ventilate with a BVM. What is the most appropriate next step?

Accepted Answer

Perform a surgical cricothyrotomy.

Answer

Insert a laryngeal mask airway (LMA).

Answer

Attempt a nasotracheal intubation.

Answer

Place the patient in the recovery position and transport rapidly.

Question 6

Use of a laryngeal mask airway (LMA) is relatively contraindicated in which of the following patients?

Accepted Answer

A morbidly obese patient who has not fasted.

Answer

A patient in cardiac arrest after an unwitnessed collapse.

Answer

A patient with a known difficult airway who requires ventilation.

Answer

An elderly patient with a history of asthma.