Hypoventilation from a slowed respiratory rate or limited chest expansion can lower blood oxygen levels.
Correct Answer
True
True. When too little air moves in and out, fewer oxygen molecules reach the alveoli, so conditions that slow breathing or restrict the chest wall or diaphragm can cause low oxygen.
Category: Respiratory Assessment
Question 2
Areas of the lung that are poorly ventilated receive more blood flow because their capillaries widen.
Correct Answer
False
False. Capillaries in poorly ventilated areas constrict, and blood is diverted toward well-ventilated alveoli where it can pick up more oxygen.
Category: Respiratory Assessment
Question 3
Anemia can limit oxygen delivery to the tissues even when the lungs work normally.
Correct Answer
True
True. Oxygen travels mostly bound to hemoglobin in red blood cells, so fewer red cells or less hemoglobin lowers the blood's oxygen-carrying capacity.
Category: Respiratory Assessment
Question 4
Wheezes heard in a patient with asthma occur most often during expiration.
Correct Answer
True
True. Expiratory wheezes are the most common adventitious sound in asthma, because narrowed airways are squeezed further as air is pushed out.
Category: Asthma and Bronchiectasis
Question 5
In a severe asthma attack, wheezing that fades while the patient's distress worsens shows that the airways are opening.
Correct Answer
False
False. Wheezing can fade because so little air is moving that no sound is produced, which is an ominous sign that calls for emergency treatment, not a sign of improvement.
Category: Asthma and Bronchiectasis
Question 6
Genetic conditions such as cystic fibrosis can lead to bronchiectasis.
Correct Answer
True
True. Cystic fibrosis and primary ciliary dyskinesia impair mucus clearance, which sets up the cycle of infection and inflammation that permanently damages and widens the bronchi.
Category: Asthma and Bronchiectasis
Question 7
An increase in sputum volume and a change in its color can signal infection in a patient with bronchiectasis.
Correct Answer
True
True. During an acute infection, sputum often increases and changes color, and fever, chills and fatigue may appear; the nurse reports these findings so cultures and treatment can begin.
Category: Asthma and Bronchiectasis
Question 8
Barrel chest in COPD develops because the front-to-back diameter of the chest shrinks.
Correct Answer
False
False. Chronic air trapping increases the front-to-back diameter, so the chest becomes rounded or barrel shaped.
Category: COPD
Question 9
Pursed-lip breathing slows exhalation and helps keep small airways open longer.
Correct Answer
True
True. Breathing out slowly through pursed lips creates back pressure that keeps small airways from collapsing early, which helps release trapped air in COPD.
Category: COPD
Question 10
Quitting smoking offers little benefit once COPD has been diagnosed.
Correct Answer
False
False. Smoking cessation is a cornerstone of COPD treatment at any stage, because continued smoking keeps damaging the airways and speeds the decline in lung function.
Category: COPD
Question 11
A small pneumothorax in a patient without symptoms may resolve as the body reabsorbs the air.
Correct Answer
True
True. A small, asymptomatic pneumothorax may need only monitoring, while larger or symptomatic ones need aspiration or a chest tube.
Category: Pneumothorax and Chest Tubes
Question 12
A chest drainage system lets air and fluid flow back into the chest when the patient inhales deeply.
Correct Answer
False
False. The system is designed for one-way drainage: air and fluid can leave the chest, but nothing can flow back in.
Category: Pneumothorax and Chest Tubes
Question 13
Watery, clear sputum suggests a bacterial pneumonia rather than a viral one.
Correct Answer
False
False. Purulent or blood-tinged sputum suggests bacterial pneumonia, while watery sputum is more often seen with viral infection.
Category: Pneumonia and Tuberculosis
Question 14
TB skin and blood tests cannot tell latent infection apart from active disease.
Correct Answer
True
True. Both tests show that the person has been infected, but sputum testing and imaging are needed to decide whether disease is active.
Category: Pneumonia and Tuberculosis
Question 15
A patient with active TB can safely stop taking the medication once the cough and night sweats go away.
Correct Answer
False
False. Bacteria survive well after symptoms improve, so treatment continues for the full prescribed course, which lasts many months; stopping early risks relapse and drug-resistant TB. The nurse coaches adherence, and directly observed therapy may be used to support it.
Category: Pneumonia and Tuberculosis
Question 16
Most males with cystic fibrosis are infertile because the vas deferens is absent, even though sperm are still produced.
Correct Answer
True
True. Congenital absence of the vas deferens blocks the path for sperm, but because sperm are still made, they can be retrieved for assisted conception.
Category: Cystic Fibrosis and Exposures
Question 17
The thick secretions of cystic fibrosis make the lungs a poor environment for bacteria.
Correct Answer
False
False. Thick, sticky mucus that cannot be cleared favors bacterial colonization by organisms such as Pseudomonas and Staphylococcus aureus, leading to repeated infections.
Category: Cystic Fibrosis and Exposures
Question 18
E-cigarette or vaping associated lung injury is a diagnosis of exclusion, so the workup includes testing for infections such as influenza.
Correct Answer
True
True. Its symptoms, such as cough, chest pain, fever and shortness of breath, are nonspecific, so imaging and testing rule out other causes such as infection before the lung injury is attributed to vaping.
Category: Cystic Fibrosis and Exposures
Question 19
Because e-cigarettes have no open flame, they pose no fire or burn hazard.
Correct Answer
False
False. E-cigarettes run on batteries that can overheat, catch fire or explode, so fire-safety teaching covers vaping devices as well as cigarettes, especially in a home where oxygen is used.
Category: Cystic Fibrosis and Exposures
Question 20
To use an incentive spirometer correctly, the patient exhales into the device as hard and fast as possible.
Correct Answer
False
False. The patient inhales slowly and deeply through the mouthpiece and then holds the breath, which expands the alveoli and helps prevent collapse after surgery.
Category: Airway and Oxygen Care