Practice Questions for Respiratory System Related

Review Practice Questions for Respiratory System related questions and content

The 75-year-old patient presents to the emergency department with shortness of breath,
fatigue, and a dry cough. When information leads the nurse to suspect that this patient should
undergo workup for histoplasmosis?

  • A. The patient reports drinking pond water
  • B. The patient lives on a farm and raises chickens.
  • C. The patient recently went hunting in a wooded area.
  • D. The patient owns a landscaping company.
Correct Answer: B

Rationale: The correct answer is B because living on a farm and raising chickens increases the risk of exposure to histoplasmosis, a fungal infection commonly found in soil contaminated with bird droppings. Raising chickens can lead to exposure to bird feces, which may contain the histoplasma fungus. The other choices (A, C, D) do not directly involve exposure to environments where the fungus is commonly found, making them less likely to lead to histoplasmosis workup.