RRT Patient Assessment Flashcards
7 cards from real RRT practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 RRT Patient Assessment flashcards as text
Crackles (rales) heard on auscultation are most commonly caused by:
Answer: Sudden opening of collapsed alveoli or fluid in small airways
Crackles are discontinuous, non-musical sounds produced by the sudden popping open of collapsed small airways or alveoli, or by movement of secretions in peripheral airways.
Dullness to percussion over a lung field is most consistent with:
Answer: Pleural effusion or pulmonary consolidation
Dullness on percussion indicates reduced air content, which occurs when fluid (pleural effusion) or solid material (consolidation in pneumonia) replaces normal aerated lung tissue.
A patient with a left-sided tension pneumothorax would most likely demonstrate:
Answer: Tracheal deviation to the right and absent breath sounds on the left
In left-sided tension pneumothorax, the increasing pressure shifts the mediastinum (and trachea) away from the affected side—toward the right—while breath sounds are absent on the left.
Egophony, used to assess for pulmonary consolidation, is best described as:
Answer: The change of a spoken 'E' sound to an 'A' sound heard over consolidated tissue
Egophony is the transformation of a spoken 'E' into an 'A' sound when auscultated over consolidated lung tissue, because solid tissue changes the acoustic properties of transmitted sound.
Which assessment finding would be LEAST expected in a patient with advanced COPD?
Answer: Inspiratory stridor
Inspiratory stridor is associated with upper airway obstruction (e.g., croup, foreign body), not COPD, which is a lower airway disease characterized by air trapping, prolonged expiration, and decreased breath sounds.
Which combination of findings is most consistent with a pleural effusion on physical assessment?
Answer: Dullness to percussion and decreased or absent breath sounds
Pleural effusion produces dullness to percussion (fluid displaces air) and decreased or absent breath sounds because the fluid layer blocks transmission of lung sounds to the chest wall.
During inspection, skin visibly sinking inward between the ribs during inspiration is correctly termed:
Answer: Intercostal retractions
Intercostal retractions are the visible inward movement of skin between the ribs during inspiration, indicating elevated work of breathing and highly negative intrathoracic pressure.