Chapter 10 Airway Management

You are performing mouth-to-mask ventilations with oxygen connected and set at a flow rate of 15 L/min. What percentage of oxygen is your patient receiving?

55%

The physical act of moving air into and out of the lungs is called:

ventilation.

A patient who is suspected of being hypoxic and is breathing adequately should be given supplemental oxygen with a:

nonrebreathing mask.

How does CPAP improve oxygenation and ventilation in patients with certain respiratory problems?

It forces the alveoli open and pushes oxygen across the alveolar membrane.

The nasopharyngeal airway is MOST beneficial because it:

can maintain a patent airway in a semiconscious patient with a gag reflex.

Which of the following statements regarding normal gas exchange in the lungs is correct?

Oxygen and carbon dioxide diffuse across the alveolar walls and capillaries.

In which of the following patients would the head tilt-chin lift maneuver be the MOST appropriate method of opening the airway?

A 37-year-old female who is found unconscious in her bed

A 19-year-old female is found unconscious by her roommate. Your primary assessment reveals that her breathing is inadequate. As you insert an oropharyngeal airway, she begins to gag violently. You should:

remove the airway and be prepared to suction her oropharynx.

Which of the following patients should you place in the recovery position?

A 31-year-old semiconscious male with low blood sugar and adequate breathing

When testing a mechanical suctioning unit, you should turn on the device, clamp the tubing, and ensure that it generates a vacuum pressure of more than:

300 mm Hg.

Irregular respirations characterized by an increasing rate and depth of breathing followed by periods of apnea are called:

Cheyne-Stokes respirations.

Which of the following patients is breathing adequately?

A conscious male with respirations of 19 breaths/min and pink skin

During your assessment of a patient with respiratory distress, you hear wheezing when listening to breath sounds. This indicates:

a lower airway obstruction.

What occurs when a patient is breathing very rapidly and shallowly?

Air moves primarily in the anatomic dead space and does not participate in pulmonary gas exchange.

Which of the following statements regarding breathing adequacy is correct?

Patients breathing shallowly may require assisted ventilation despite a normal respiratory rate.

Which of the following statements regarding oxygen is correct?

Oxygen supports the combustion process and may cause a fire.

Which of the following is the MOST reliable indicator of adequately performed bag-valve mask ventilations in an apneic adult with a pulse?

Adequate rise of the chest when squeezing the bag

Which of the following structures is NOT found in the upper airway?

Bronchus

You are ventilating a patient with a stoma; however, air is escaping from the mouth and nose. To prevent this, you should:

seal the mouth and nose.

A man was found unresponsive in his bed at home. There is no evidence of injury and the patient’s medical history is not known. The patient’s face is cyanotic, yet the pulse oximeter reads 98%. Which of the following would MOST likely explain this?

Carbon monoxide poisoning