1.	Patients who are short of breath often complain of what other symptom?
A)	Chest pain
B)	Anxiety
C)	Cough
D)	Dizziness

2.	What term is used to describe shortness of breath in the reclining position?
A)	Platypnea
B)	Apnea
C)	Orthopnea
D)	Eupnea

3.	Which of the following problems would potentially add to the patient's shortness of breath by increasing the drive to breathe?
A)	Metabolic alkalosis
B)	Leukocytosis
C)	Polycythemia
D)	Severe hypoxemia

4.	Your patient has pneumonia and is having an asthma attack. Which of the following mechanisms would be contributing to the sensation of dyspnea?
A)	Increase in the work of breathing due to high airway resistance
B)	Increase in the work of breathing due to low lung compliance
C)	Increase in the drive to breathe due to hypoxemia
D)	All the above

5.	Which of the following is least likely to cause a patient to cough?
A)	Pericarditis
B)	Inhalation of cigarette smoke
C)	Infection of the bronchi
D)	Pleural inflammation

6.	Which of the following disorders is associated with a cough?
A)	Asthma
B)	Gastroesophageal reflux disease
C)	Postnasal drip
D)	All the above

7.	Your patient has severe emphysema with a weak cough. Which of the following is least likely to contribute to a weak cough in such patients?
A)	Increased lung recoil
B)	High airways resistance
C)	Weak breathing muscles
D)	Poor nutrition

8.	What is the most common cause of increased sputum production in adult patients?
A)	Infection
B)	Cigarette smoking
C)	Asthma
D)	Bronchiectasis

9.	Which of the following conditions is associated with copious amounts of sputum production?
A)	Asthma
B)	Emphysema
C)	Bronchiectasis
D)	Congestive heart failure

10.	What term is used to describe sputum that contains pus?
A)	Purulent
B)	Fetid
C)	Mucoid
D)	Tenacious

11.	Which of the following characteristics is NOT common for pleuritic chest pain?
A)	Located laterally
B)	Increases with breathing
C)	Often radiates to the arm or jaw
D)	Sharp

12.	Which of the following conditions is least likely to cause hemoptysis?
A)	Acute bronchitis
B)	Acute asthma
C)	Bronchogenic carcinoma
D)	Pulmonary embolism

13.	Your patient has severe pneumonia but her fever is minimal. What may explain this?
A)	Liver failure
B)	Renal failure
C)	Compromised cardiac function
D)	Compromised immune system

14.	Your patient has bilateral wheezing. Which of the following conditions often causes this finding?
A)	Asthma
B)	Acute bronchitis
C)	Congestive heart failure
D)	All the above

15.	What section of the patient's medical history is most important for the RT to read prior to rendering care?
A)	Past medical history
B)	Social history
C)	History of present illness
D)	Smoking history

16.	Which of the following conditions often causes the patient to breathe rapidly and shallowly?
A)	Atelectasis
B)	Pulmonary fibrosis
C)	Pneumonia
D)	All the above

17.	Which of the following conditions causes the patient to breathe with a prolonged expiratory time?
A)	Acute asthma
B)	Congetive heart failure
C)	Atelectasis
D)	All the above

18.	Systolic blood pressure values above what number represent hypertension?
A)	130 mmHg
B)	140 mmHg
C)	150 mmHg
D)	160 mmHg

19.	Your adult patient is breathing at a rate of 12 per minute. How would you classify this?
A)	Normal
B)	Bradypnea
C)	Apnea
D)	Tachypnea

20.	When the brain becomes hypoxic, what often occurs?
A)	Bradypnea
B)	Bradycardia
C)	Rapid and shallow breathing
D)	Abnormal sensorium

21.	The pulse oximeter may not be reliable in which of the following conditions?
A)	Poor circulation
B)	Carbon monoxide poisoning
C)	Both A and B
D)	None of the above

22.	What is indicated by abdominal paradox?
A)	Liver failure
B)	Heart failure
C)	Diaphragm fatigue
D)	CNS disorder

23.	What pulmonary disorder is associated with a barrel chest configuration?
A)	Pneumonia
B)	COPD
C)	Congestive heart failure
D)	Pneumothorax

24.	Your patient has kyphoscoliosis. What effect does this have on lung function?
A)	Significant loss of lung volume
B)	Significant decrease in expiratory flows
C)	Reduced ability to transfer oxygen
D)	All the above

25.	Which of the following lung disorders is associated with increased tactile fremitus?
A)	Pneumothorax
B)	Emphysema
C)	Asthma
D)	Pneumonia

26.	Which of the following lung conditions is associated with increased resonance to percussion?
A)	Emphysema
B)	Pneumonia
C)	Atelectasis
D)	Pleural effusion

27.	Your patient has pneumonia in the left lower lobe. What breath soundsdo you expect to hear over this lobe?
A)	Vesicular
B)	Bronchial
C)	Normal
D)	Absent

28.	Your patient has emphysema. What breath sounds do you expect to hear over most of the chest?
A)	Vesicular
B)	Bronchial
C)	Normal
D)	Diminished

29.	What adventitious lung sounds are commonly heard over the chest of the patient with acute asthma?
A)	Monophonic wheezing
B)	Polyphonic wheezing
C)	Stridor
D)	Coarse crackles

30.	Your patient has upper airway inflammation from a viral infection. What adventitious lung sound is expected?
A)	Polyphonic wheezing
B)	Expiratory rhonchi
C)	Fine crackles
D)	Inspiratory stridor

31.	Your patient has pulmonary fibrosis (restrictive lung disease). What adventitious lung sound is expected during chest auscultation?
A)	Coarse crackles
B)	Fine crackles
C)	Wheezing
D)	Rhonchi

32.	What finding is common in patients with right heart failure?
A)	Digital clubbing
B)	Dilated pupils
C)	Jugular venous distension
D)	Kyphosis

33.	What heart sound is associated with a myocardial infarction?
A)	S1
B)	S2
C)	S3
D)	Systolic murmur

34.	Your patient has right heart failure due to chronic lung disease. Which of the following findings is NOT consistent with signs of right heart failure?
A)	Hepatomegaly
B)	JVD
C)	Pedal edema
D)	A heave at the left midaxillary region

35.	An elderly patient with severe pneumonia is in your care. Which of the following clinical lab findings suggests that the infection is overwhelming the patient?
A)	Leukocytosis
B)	Leucopenia
C)	Polycythemia
D)	Anemia

36.	Which type of white blood cells are most commonly in the peripheral blood smear of a healthy person?
A)	Neutrophils
B)	Eosinophils
C)	Basophils
D)	Lymphocytes

37.	Your patient has been found to have many eosinophils in his sputum smear. What is indicated by this finding?
A)	Bacterial infection
B)	Tuberculosis
C)	An allergic reaction
D)	This is normal

38.	Which of the following can cause secondary polycythemia?
A)	Living at high altitude
B)	Congenital heart disease
C)	Chronic lung disease
D)	All the above

39.	The presence of hypochromic anemia suggests which of the following?
A)	Depleted hemoglobin levels
B)	Small red blood cells
C)	Vitamin K deficiency
D)	Bone marrow disease

40.	The sputum smear for your patient reveals 3+ gram positive cocci and many epithelial cells. What should you do?
A)	Start antibiotics
B)	Discard the sample
C)	Get a chest x-ray
D)	Start oxygen

41.	What is indicated by elevation of blood troponin levels?
A)	Kidney disease
B)	Pulmonary emboli
C)	Heart attack
D)	Pneumonia

42.	Which of the following disorders is most likely to cause ventilatory failure and respiratory acidosis?
A)	Pulmonary fibrosis
B)	Lobar pneumonia
C)	Congestive heart failure
D)	Neuromuscular disease

43.	If your patient's FEV1 measurement is markedly reduced, what could be causing this result?
A)	Asthma
B)	COPD
C)	Kyphoscoliosis
D)	All the above

44.	What is the correct position of the endotracheal tube as seen on the chest x-ray?
A)	1–3 cm above the carina
B)	3–5 cm above the carina
C)	5–7 cm above the carina
D)	Depends on the size of the patient

45.	Which of the following disorders is associated with radiolucent findings on the chest x-ray?
A)	Emphysema
B)	Pneumonia
C)	Pleural effusion
D)	Congestive heart failure

46.	You suspect your patient may have congestive heart failure. What is the maximum width of the heart as seen on the chest x-ray that is considered within normal limits?
A)	25% of the width of the chest
B)	33% of the width of the chest
C)	50% of the width of the chest
D)	66% of the width of the chest

47.	What would indicate atrial hypertrophy on the ECG?
A)	Large QRS complexes
B)	Tall P waves
C)	Tall T waves
D)	Prolonged P–R intervals

48.	What is indicated by a P–R interval of .24?
A)	An enlarged heart
B)	A myocardial infarction
C)	Heart block
D)	Bundle branch block

49.	What finding on the ECG is consistent with myocardial ischemia?
A)	Tall T waves
B)	Tall QRS complexes
C)	Elevated ST segments
D)	Wide QRS complexes

Answer Key

1.	B
2.	C
3.	D
4.	D
5.	A
6.	D
7.	A
8.	B
9.	C
10.	A
11.	C
12.	B
13.	D
14.	D
15.	C
16.	D
17.	A
18.	B
19.	A
20.	D
21.	C
22.	C
23.	B
24.	A
25.	D
26.	A
27.	B
28.	D
29.	B
30.	D
31.	B
32.	C
33.	C
34.	D
35.	B
36.	A
37.	C
38.	D
39.	A
40.	B
41.	C
42.	D
43.	D
44.	B
45.	A
46.	C
47.	B
48.	C
49.	C