Practice Test Geeks(RNC-NIC) Registered Nurse Certified in Neonatal Intensive Care Practice Test
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Respiratory Care Flashcards

7 cards from real RNC-NIC 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

  1. A 28-week neonate on CPAP has increasing oxygen requirements and work of breathing. Chest X-ray shows a diffuse 'ground-glass' appearance with air bronchograms. What is the most likely diagnosis?

    Answer: Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS)

    Ground-glass opacification with air bronchograms on CXR is the classic radiographic finding of RDS due to surfactant deficiency in premature infants.

  2. When administering surfactant therapy via the INSURE technique, what does the acronym stand for?

    Answer: Intubate, give SURfactant, Extubate

    INSURE stands for INtubate, give SURfactant, and Extubate, minimizing ventilator exposure in preterm infants.

  3. A term neonate born through thick meconium-stained fluid is vigorous at birth. What is the current recommended initial management?

    Answer: Routine care without immediate tracheal suctioning

    Current NRP guidelines recommend routine care for vigorous meconium-stained neonates; immediate tracheal suctioning is no longer recommended for vigorous infants.

  4. A 32-week neonate receiving conventional mechanical ventilation has a PaCO2 of 28 mmHg on ABG. What ventilator adjustment is most appropriate?

    Answer: Decrease tidal volume or respiratory rate

    Hypocarbia (PaCO2 < 35 mmHg) in neonates risks cerebral vasoconstriction and periventricular leukomalacia; decreasing minute ventilation is indicated.

  5. Which finding on a neonatal blood gas indicates a mixed respiratory and metabolic acidosis?

    Answer: pH 7.20, PaCO2 55 mmHg, HCO3 16 mEq/L

    A mixed acidosis shows both elevated PaCO2 (respiratory component) and reduced bicarbonate (metabolic component) with a low pH.

  6. A neonate on high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) has bilateral hyperinflation on CXR. Which parameter should be decreased?

    Answer: Mean airway pressure (MAP)

    Mean airway pressure controls lung volume and oxygenation in HFOV; hyperinflation indicates MAP is too high and should be reduced.

  7. A nurse notices the endotracheal tube markings have shifted and the neonate's breath sounds are absent on the left. What has most likely occurred?

    Answer: Right mainstem bronchus intubation

    Right mainstem intubation is common in neonates due to the straighter angle of the right bronchus, causing absent breath sounds on the left.