NPTE-PT Test Cardiopulmonary Assessment and Management Questions and Answers Flashcards
6 cards from real NPTE-PT practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 NPTE-PT Test Cardiopulmonary Assessment and Management Questions and Answers flashcards as text
A patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) demonstrates a barrel chest deformity. Which physiological change BEST explains this finding?
Answer: Chronic air trapping leading to hyperinflation of the lungs
Barrel chest in COPD results from chronic air trapping that causes persistent hyperinflation, increasing the anteroposterior diameter of the thorax.
During auscultation of a patient post-coronary artery bypass graft surgery, the physical therapist hears diminished breath sounds at the left base. What is the MOST likely cause?
Answer: Left lower lobe atelectasis
Diminished breath sounds at the left base after cardiac surgery most commonly indicate left lower lobe atelectasis due to phrenic nerve irritation and diaphragmatic dysfunction.
A patient in the ICU has a pulmonary artery catheter showing a pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) of 22 mmHg. This value is MOST consistent with which condition?
Answer: Left ventricular failure
A PCWP above 18 mmHg indicates elevated left atrial pressure, which is characteristic of left ventricular failure causing pulmonary congestion.
Which breathing pattern is characterized by progressively deeper breaths followed by progressively shallower breaths with periods of apnea?
Answer: Cheyne-Stokes respiration
Cheyne-Stokes respiration features a crescendo-decrescendo pattern of tidal volume with intermittent apneic periods, often seen in heart failure or neurological injury.
A physical therapist is monitoring a patient during cardiac rehabilitation. The patient's rate-pressure product (RPP) at rest is 8,400. Which combination of values reflects this RPP?
Answer: Heart rate 70 bpm and systolic BP 120 mmHg
Rate-pressure product equals heart rate multiplied by systolic blood pressure, so 70 x 120 = 8,400.
A patient with cystic fibrosis is receiving postural drainage in a Trendelenburg position. Which lung segments are being targeted?
Answer: Lower lobe basal segments
Trendelenburg positioning with head lower than feet uses gravity to drain secretions from the lower lobe basal segments.