a 42 year old woman who is obese and has a long history of smoking recently underwent upper abdominal  surgery. She was extubated last evening and several hours later is observed lying supine with shallow, rapid respirations. There are decreased breath sounds at both bases and the patient is complaining of severe pain with movement..Which of the following should a respiratory therapist suggest at this time?I.Arterial blood gas analysisII. Chest radiographIII. Acid-fast bacillus culture of sputum specimenIV.Electrolyte determinations

Inhaled gas for a patient who has a tracheostomy should:

Mechanical ventilation is indicated for patients with which of the following conditions?I. Acute on chronic hypercapneaII. Anemic hypoxiaIII. Narcotic-induced hypoventilationIV. Increased work of breathing

A patient with COPD who is receiving a bronchodilator by a metered dose inhaler (MDI) q6h complains of wheezing before the next treatment. the respiratory therapist should recommend which of the following?

A patient with chronic hypercapnea was extubated 2 days ago. He is now recieving a trial of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation with the following settings:IPAP           18 cm H2OEPAP          10 cm H2OThe respiratory therapist notes that EPAP consistently falls below 10 cm H2O. Which of the following could contribute to this situation?I. Inspiratory flow is too highII. The head straps are too looseIII. The mask is too largeIV. A nasogastric tube is present

Which of the following data sets reveals the best effective static compliance for an 81.8 kg (180 lb) male patient receiving mechanical ventilation with a tidal volume of 900 ml?       PIP              Plateau pressure              PEEP

A diagnosis of chronic bronchitis is consistent with which of the following?I. Morning coughII. Daily sputum productionIII. Frothy, pink sputumIV. Blood tinged sputum

If a needle is going to be recapped, Which of the following is the preferred technique?

A 70 kg (154 lb) patient with ARDS is recieving volume-controlled ventilation. The ventilator settings are as follows:Mode                                ACFIO2                                                  0.60Mandatory Rate               12Total Rate                       12VT                                   700 mlPEEP                              10 cm H2OInspiratory flow               40 LPMInspiratory Pause              1.5 secInspiratory pattern            Square waveThe respiratory therapist should do which of the following to minimize auto-PEEP?

A patient recieving mechanical ventilation has also been recieving inline bronchodilator treatments every 4 hours. To determine the effectiveness of these treatments over the last 24 hours, the respiratory therapist should review the patient’s records for changes in: