You are the respiratory therapist assigned to a 300 bed hospital NICU and are called to the bedside of a 32-week gestational age newborn boy who was placed on pressure-limited mechanical ventilation and given surfactant therapy 2 hours ago. He is exhibiting hypocapnea and his tidal volumes are higher than were previously documented. What may be the cause of this finding?

In theory, how does positive pressure (PEP) help to move secretions into the larger airways? I. filling underaerated segments through collateral ventilation II. preventing airway collapse during expiration III. causing bronchodilation during inspiration

Which of the following is NOT an advantage for the treatment of the respiratory tract with inhaled aerosols?

Which of the following are assessment features for evaluating patient response to bronchodilator therapy?1. reversibility of airflow obstruction2. changes in flow rates using a peak flowmeter or portable spirometry3. changes in vital signs4. changes in ventilation and oxygenation5. the patient’s subjective reaction to treatment

Medications that break the disulfide bond and increase mucociliary or cough efficiency are:

After coming on a patient with complete obstruction of an oral endotracheal tube, your efforts to relieve the obstruction by moving the patient’s head and neck and deflating the cuff both fail. What should be your next step?

You perform a series of pulmonary function tests on a patient with a potentially infectious disease carried via the airborne route. Which of the following infection-control procedures should you implement?I. Wear a respirator or close-fitting surgical mask.II. Dispose of, sterilize, or disinfect the tubing circuit after testing.III. Clean the interior surface of the spirometer before the next test.

Which of the following conditions alter normal mucociliary clearance?I. bronchospasmII. cystic fibrosis (CF)III. ciliary dyskinesia

While assessing a 33 year old male patient for implementation of an assess and treat respiratory care protocol, a respiratory therapist obtains the following information: HR                         100 RR                          22 SpO2                     93% breathing air Breath sounds are decreased bilaterally in bases and there is a decreased resonance to percussion bilaterally in bases. A chest radiograph indicates atelectasis in both bases. The therapist should:

A patient who was admitted into the intensive care unit with cardiac abnormalities on ECG complains of light headedness, nausea and chest pains. The patient is diaphoretic and has a blood pressure of 110/56 mm Hg. A respiratory therapist observes the following ECG pattern: Therapist should recommend: