Respiratory Care Flashcards
7 cards from real MSNCB 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 Care flashcards as text
A nurse is preparing to administer ipratropium bromide to a patient with COPD. Which assessment finding is a contraindication for this medication?
Answer: History of narrow-angle glaucoma
Ipratropium, an anticholinergic, can increase intraocular pressure and is contraindicated in narrow-angle glaucoma; closed-angle glaucoma crisis can result from systemic or inhaled anticholinergics.
Which clinical indicator most reliably signals that weaning from mechanical ventilation should proceed?
Answer: Rapid shallow breathing index (RSBI) of 80 or less with hemodynamic stability
An RSBI (respiratory rate / tidal volume in liters) ≤105, especially ≤80, combined with hemodynamic stability and adequate oxygenation, predicts successful extubation.
A patient with community-acquired pneumonia has a CURB-65 score of 3. This score indicates the patient should receive care in which setting?
Answer: ICU-level or inpatient with close monitoring
A CURB-65 score of 3–5 indicates severe pneumonia with high 30-day mortality risk, requiring hospitalization and consideration of ICU-level care.
A patient receiving high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) therapy develops increasing work of breathing and SpO2 of 86% despite FiO2 of 0.80 at 50 L/min. The nurse's priority action is:
Answer: Notify the physician immediately for escalation of respiratory support
Failure to maintain oxygenation on maximum HFNC settings indicates the need for immediate physician notification and escalation to non-invasive or invasive ventilation.
A nurse is educating a patient newly diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) about respiratory precautions at home. Which statement by the patient indicates understanding?
Answer: I should wear a surgical mask in common areas and sleep in a well-ventilated separate room until non-infectious.
Active TB requires airborne precautions including wearing a mask in shared spaces and sleeping separately in a well-ventilated room until sputum cultures are negative on three consecutive tests.
A patient with cystic fibrosis is admitted for a pulmonary exacerbation. Which intervention is most important for airway clearance?
Answer: Perform chest physiotherapy with postural drainage and administer DNase (dornase alfa)
Chest physiotherapy, postural drainage, and DNase (which breaks down the DNA in thick secretions) are cornerstone airway clearance therapies in cystic fibrosis exacerbations.
A patient is receiving supplemental oxygen via nasal cannula. The nurse knows that each 1 L/min increase in flow rate raises the FiO2 by approximately:
Answer: 4%
Each 1 L/min of oxygen via nasal cannula increases FiO2 by approximately 4% (room air ~21%; 1 L/min ≈ 25%, 2 L/min ≈ 29%, etc.).