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Prehospital Emergency Care Practice Test: Respiratory Emergencies
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Avg score: 38% • Most missed: “The EMT is correctly assessing a patient for subcutaneous emphysema when he:”
In an emergency, EMTs should assess a patient's airway and help them breathe using artificial ventilation. Oxygen is the main treatment for respiratory difficulty. Here are some basic steps to take: Position: If the patient is breathing adequately, use a nonrebreather mask at 12-15 liters per minute. If the patient is not breathing well, have them lie down to receive artificial ventilations. Comfort: Have the patient sit up in a comfortable position. Inhalers: If the patient has an inhaler, you can help them use it after consulting with medical direction.  Respiratory distress, also... Show more
Prehospital Emergency Care Practice Test: Respiratory Emergencies
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25 Questions

1. Which of these is considered an early sign of inadequate breathing in children?
2. You arrive on scene for a 9-year-old female patient with a severe cough. Her mother states that she has spoken to her pediatrician, who believes that the child may have whooping cough and should be taken to the hospital for evaluation. Her mother is unsure if her daughter has had all her immunizations. Which of these statements would be most appropriate in regard to the care of this patient?
3. You realize the EMT is properly ventilating an unresponsive adult male patient when:
4. A patient in respiratory distress is exhibiting pursed lip breathing. You realize that he is doing this to:
5. A 911 call was placed for a 3-year-old child with difficulty breathing. On scene, you note that the child is upright with slight stridor upon inspiration. He is alert and breathing at a rate of 30 breaths/min. His skin is warm and dry, and his radial pulse strong and regular. His breath sounds are clear and equal. His mother states that he was fine all day until 15 minutes ago, when he was playing with friends in the playroom and suddenly started having difficulty breathing. As an EMT, you should suspect which condition?
6. After you administer a medication through a metered-dose inhaler (MDI) and the patient has inhaled the medication, it is important that the patient:
7. A confused, lethargic, and nonverbal 50-year-old female patient has altered mental status. You are told she has a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The primary assessment reveals a respiration rate of 6 breaths/min and cool, clammy skin with cyanosis around the lips. What should be your priority management?
8. An alert and distressed 72-year-old male patient with a history of pulmonary edema from heart failure is in severe respiratory distress, breathing 28 to 32 times per minute. His airway is patent, respirations are labored, crackles are heard in the bases of the lungs, and skin is found to be diaphoretic with a rapid radial pulse. Other vital signs are pulse, 136; blood pressure, 202/110 mmHg; and SpO2, 83%. Cyanosis is evident in the fingertips. The best treatment for this patient's breathing difficulty would be:
9. You have been called to a home for an 18-year-old male patient, who informs you that he experienced a sudden onset of shortness of breath and back pain while watching television. He has a history of spontaneous pneumothorax, and the current symptoms he is experiencing are identical to those he felt with a previous pneumothorax. Assessment reveals the patient to be slightly dyspneic with breath sounds clear and intact bilaterally. During transport, what is most critical to continually monitor on this patient?
10. You have been called to a residence for an 18-year-old female patient with shortness of breath and a history of cystic fibrosis. On scene, you find the patient to be very thin and sick looking. Her airway is patent and breathing adequate, although slightly labored. Her radial pulse is strong, and she has a constant cough, which occasionally produces green- and yellow-colored mucus. Auscultation of the lungs reveals rhonchi to the upper portion of both lungs. Vital signs are pulse, 108; respirations, 20 breaths/min; blood pressure, 98/56 mmHg; and SpO2, 92%. Based on these findings, appropriate care should include:
11. You have arrived on scene to find a 32-year-old male patient who complains of rapid breathing, light-headedness, tachycardia, and numbness and tingling to his lips and hands. Family on scene report that he had just received bad advice from his attorney about a pending divorce when the symptoms started. The patient denies chest pain as well as any other past medical history. His pulse is 124, respirations are 52 breaths/min, and his blood pressure is 158/68 mmHg. What is your first course of action in treating this patient?
12. You suspect a patient of being infected with pertussis. While performing the primary assessment, you note a deep cough with clear breath sounds. Her vital signs are pulse, 108; respirations, 16 breaths/min; and SpO2, 96% on room air. Given this scenario, which action by the EMT would be most appropriate?
13. You are assisting a patient in taking her metered-dose inhaler for the first time. Which of these statements about the side effects of the medication would be most appropriate?
14. You are at an extended care facility for the elderly to assess and transport a patient suspected of having pneumonia to the hospital for evaluation. During your pulmonary assessment, which breath sound would you expect to hear that would be most specific to pneumonia versus other pulmonary conditions?
15. A confused and cyanotic patient is breathing 8 times per minute with poor chest rise and fall. Which instruction would you give your partner about the respiratory care of this patient?
16. The best way to gauge the effectiveness of oxygen therapy is to monitor the:
17. When assessing a patient who complains of shortness of breath but has an open airway, which action should the EMT perform next?
18. You are delivering positive pressure ventilations to a patient who is breathing poorly and has absent breath sounds in the right lung. Which of these instructions would you provide to those responders who are ventilating the patient?
19. A 4-year-old boy in respiratory distress is sitting upright in bed and drooling. His mother states that he complained of a sore throat throughout the day, and tonight became severely short of breath and started drooling. He is alert with adequate breathing. His skin is very warm to the touch. Vital signs are pulse, 132; respirations, 28 breaths/min; and SpO2, 90% on room air. Which is your first action in caring for this child?
20. Assessment of a 67-year-old male patient reveals absent lung sounds to the right lung, accompanied by sharp chest pain to the same side. When obtaining a history, which of these statements made by the patient's wife would the EMT recognize as most important?
21. What is the typical resting respiratory rate for an elderly patient?
22. The medication contained within a metered-dose inhaler is in which form?
23. When instructing a patient on how to use a small-volume nebulizer, which of these statements would be correct?
24. The EMT is correctly accessing for accessory muscle use when he examines which part of the body?
25. You have been called to a residence for a patient with altered mental status and shortness of breath. On scene, an Emergency Medical Responder meets you and states that he believes the patient had a stroke and is unresponsive. As you enter the room, you see the patient lying in bed with snoring respirations. Oxygen at 15 liters per minute has been applied. Your immediate action when you reach the patient's side would be to:

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