NCLEX : Causes and Treatments of Respiratory Conditions
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Example Question #11 : Causes And Treatments Of Respiratory Conditions
Which of the following side effects would you most likely expect when providing an asthmatic patient with continuous nebulizer therapy?
Tachycardia
Pinpoint pupils
Hyperthermia
Hypothermia
Bradycardia
Tachycardia
Asthma is treated with albuterol. This drug is a beta-2 agonist, which works to relax smooth muscle in the lungs, and open up the airways. A consequence of this drug is the beta-2 effects on the heart. Beta-2 on the heart causes an increase in heart rate (tachycardia) and is a common side effect seen in the treatment of asthmatics.
Example Question #871 : Nclex
You are a pulmonology nurse taking care of a patient who complains of episodic wheezing. You perform a diagnostic test in which you perform pulmonary function tests on the patient before, and after administering albuterol, a beta-2 adrenergic agonist. You note that the patient's symptoms and FEV1 readings improve drastically with bronchodilator administration. Based upon these findings, the patient most likely has which of the following?
Lung Cancer
Sarcoidosis
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Throat Cancer
Asthma
Asthma
The correct answer is "Asthma." This answer is correct because asthma is an inflammatory airway condition that is characteristically improved symptomatically and quantitatively (in terms of pulmonary function tests, including FEV1 readings) with bronchodilator administration (e.g. albuterol, the beta-2 adrenergic agonist administered in this patient). In this patient who presented for evaluation of wheezing, a characteristic symptom of asthma, his substantial response to bronchodilator administration makes the likelihood of an asthma diagnosis very high.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is an obstructive physiology of the airways often due to chronic tobacco smoking. While bronchodilators may be of some clinical value in these patients, their FEV1 readings characteristically do not correct after bronchodilator administration, as this is a major method in which COPD can be distinguished from asthma and other inflammatory airway conditions.
Sarcoidosis, lung cancer, and throat cancer symptoms would not necessarily improve with bronchodilator administration, nor would pulmonary function test readings in patients with these conditions.
Example Question #877 : Nclex
A 45-year old obese male with a history of obstructive sleep apnea, hypertension, diabetes, and coronary artery disease presents to your primary care clinic for help in managing his fatigue due to his sleep apnea. He is not a candidate for tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. Which of the following interventions would be the best recommendation to treat his obstructive sleep apnea?
Insulin
Tamsulosin
Metoprolol
Metformin
Continuous positive airway pressure mask (CPAP)
Continuous positive airway pressure mask (CPAP)
The correct answer is "continuous positive airway pressure mask (CPAP)." This is the correct answer as a CPAP mask helps to force airway into the lungs that is otherwise obstructed by the patient's oropharyngeal anatomy at standard breathing pressures due to obstructive sleep apnea. When wearing a CPAP mask (typically when sleeping), snoring is reduced, and oxygenation is improved, allowing patients to have a more restful sleep and feel less fatigued the following day.
While medications like metoprolol, insulin, and metformin may be beneficial to the patient in treating his conditions co-morbid to obstructive sleep apnea, they do not have a direct effect on treating his sleep apnea or the resultant fatigue.
Tamsulosin is an alpha-adrenergic blocker and can be used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia among other conditions, but not obstructive sleep apnea.
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