Practice Questions for Respiratory System Related

Review Practice Questions for Respiratory System related questions and content

The ED nurse is assessing the respiratory function of a teenage girl who presented with acute shortness of breath. Auscultation reveals continuous wheezes during inspiration and expiration. This finding is most suggestive of what?

  • A. Pleurisy
  • B. Emphysema
  • C. Asthma
  • D. Pneumonia
Correct Answer: C

Rationale: The continuous wheezes heard on auscultation during both inspiration and expiration in a teenage girl with acute shortness of breath are highly suggestive of asthma. Asthma is characterized by airway inflammation and bronchoconstriction, leading to wheezing on both inspiration and expiration. Other choices like pleurisy typically present with sharp chest pain worsened by breathing, emphysema with decreased breath sounds and barrel chest, and pneumonia with crackles and possibly fever.