Airway Management and Respiratory Emergencies Flashcards
7 cards from real COPR practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Airway Management and Respiratory Emergencies flashcards as text
A patient is unresponsive and apneic. After opening the airway with a head-tilt chin-lift, you attempt bag-valve-mask ventilation but notice significant resistance and chest does not rise. What is your FIRST priority?
Answer: Reposition the airway and attempt ventilation again
Airway repositioning is the first corrective step when BVM ventilation fails, as improper positioning is the most common cause of ineffective ventilation.
Which of the following is the MOST reliable indicator that endotracheal tube placement is correct?
Answer: Visualization of the tube passing through the vocal cords
Direct visualization of the tube passing through the vocal cords is the gold standard for confirming correct ETT placement.
A patient presents with severe respiratory distress, absent breath sounds on the left, hypotension, and tracheal deviation to the right. What condition should be suspected?
Answer: Left tension pneumothorax
Absent breath sounds, tracheal deviation away from the affected side, and hemodynamic compromise are classic signs of tension pneumothorax.
When performing nasotracheal intubation, which patient condition is a contraindication?
Answer: Suspected mid-face or basilar skull fracture
Mid-face fractures and suspected basilar skull fractures are contraindications to nasotracheal intubation due to the risk of intracranial tube placement.
A patient with acute severe asthma is not responding to initial bronchodilator therapy and is becoming increasingly fatigued. Which finding MOST suggests impending respiratory failure?
Answer: Decreasing level of consciousness and a silent chest
A silent chest (absence of wheeze due to minimal airflow) combined with decreasing consciousness indicates critical, life-threatening asthma requiring immediate intervention.
Which of the following is the correct procedure for performing needle decompression for tension pneumothorax?
Answer: 2nd intercostal space, mid-clavicular line, below the rib
Needle decompression is performed at the 2nd ICS mid-clavicular line just over the top of the 3rd rib to avoid the neurovascular bundle running beneath each rib.
A 60-year-old COPD patient presents with worsening dyspnea, productive cough, and SpO2 of 82%. After applying supplemental oxygen, his SpO2 rises to 92% but his respiratory rate decreases significantly and he becomes more somnolent. What is the MOST likely explanation?
Answer: High-flow oxygen has suppressed his hypoxic respiratory drive
Some severe COPD patients rely on hypoxic drive to breathe; administering high-flow oxygen can suppress this drive, causing hypoventilation and CO2 retention.