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ATI Respiratory Assessment and
Monitoring| Documentation Questions
and Answers| Exam Prep 2025
A nurse is assessing a patient with pneumonia and notices the patient is using accessory muscles
to breathe.
What does this suggest about the patient's respiratory effort?
It means the patient's struggling to breathe and using extra muscles to pull air in—probably
because of labored or shallow breathing. It’s a sign of respiratory distress.
A patient with COPD has a barrel chest and pursed-lip breathing.
Why is the patient breathing this way?
They’re trying to keep airways open longer to get more air out. Pursed-lip breathing slows
exhalation and helps prevent air trapping.
The nurse notes a respiratory rate of 8 breaths per minute in a post-op patient on opioids.
What’s the main concern here?
That’s bradypnea—too slow. Could be from opioid-induced respiratory depression. Need to
monitor closely or give Narcan if needed.
During auscultation, the nurse hears crackles in the patient’s lower lobes.
, 2
What might this indicate?
Crackles usually mean fluid in the lungs, like in pneumonia, heart failure, or atelectasis. It's
not normal—needs follow-up.
A nurse is checking oxygen saturation and sees a reading of 88%.
What action should be taken first?
Recheck it to make sure it’s accurate—check the probe placement, patient’s fingers (cold or
moving?), then give oxygen if it’s still low.
A patient with asthma is having audible wheezing on exhalation.
What does this tell you about airway function?
Wheezing = narrowed airways, probably from inflammation or bronchospasm. It’s a common
asthma sign.
The patient suddenly becomes confused and restless while on oxygen.
What should the nurse suspect?
Could be early hypoxia. Brain's super sensitive to low oxygen, so confusion and anxiety
might show up before breathing changes.
A nurse is doing a peak flow reading for an asthma patient. The patient blows a much lower
number than usual.
, 3
What’s the significance of this?
It shows their airways are more restricted today—maybe a flare-up or they're not well
controlled. Might need meds or evaluation.
A patient’s respiratory rate is 26 breaths/min and they say they feel anxious.
What’s likely going on here?
That's tachypnea. Could be from anxiety, pain, or hypoxia. Gotta figure out the cause but
monitor breathing closely.
During chest percussion, dullness is heard over one lung base.
What might that indicate?
Dullness usually means there’s something denser than air—like fluid (pleural effusion) or
consolidation (like pneumonia).
A nurse sees a COPD patient on 6L/min nasal cannula.
What’s wrong with this oxygen level?
That’s too high for COPD. They rely on low O2 to trigger breathing, so too much can stop
their drive to breathe. Usually keep it under 3L/min unless otherwise ordered.
A patient suddenly has absent breath sounds on the left after a central line was inserted.
What’s the priority?
Suspect pneumothorax—collapsed lung. That’s an emergency. Call the provider and get a
chest X-ray ASAP.
ATI Respiratory Assessment and
Monitoring| Documentation Questions
and Answers| Exam Prep 2025
A nurse is assessing a patient with pneumonia and notices the patient is using accessory muscles
to breathe.
What does this suggest about the patient's respiratory effort?
It means the patient's struggling to breathe and using extra muscles to pull air in—probably
because of labored or shallow breathing. It’s a sign of respiratory distress.
A patient with COPD has a barrel chest and pursed-lip breathing.
Why is the patient breathing this way?
They’re trying to keep airways open longer to get more air out. Pursed-lip breathing slows
exhalation and helps prevent air trapping.
The nurse notes a respiratory rate of 8 breaths per minute in a post-op patient on opioids.
What’s the main concern here?
That’s bradypnea—too slow. Could be from opioid-induced respiratory depression. Need to
monitor closely or give Narcan if needed.
During auscultation, the nurse hears crackles in the patient’s lower lobes.
, 2
What might this indicate?
Crackles usually mean fluid in the lungs, like in pneumonia, heart failure, or atelectasis. It's
not normal—needs follow-up.
A nurse is checking oxygen saturation and sees a reading of 88%.
What action should be taken first?
Recheck it to make sure it’s accurate—check the probe placement, patient’s fingers (cold or
moving?), then give oxygen if it’s still low.
A patient with asthma is having audible wheezing on exhalation.
What does this tell you about airway function?
Wheezing = narrowed airways, probably from inflammation or bronchospasm. It’s a common
asthma sign.
The patient suddenly becomes confused and restless while on oxygen.
What should the nurse suspect?
Could be early hypoxia. Brain's super sensitive to low oxygen, so confusion and anxiety
might show up before breathing changes.
A nurse is doing a peak flow reading for an asthma patient. The patient blows a much lower
number than usual.
, 3
What’s the significance of this?
It shows their airways are more restricted today—maybe a flare-up or they're not well
controlled. Might need meds or evaluation.
A patient’s respiratory rate is 26 breaths/min and they say they feel anxious.
What’s likely going on here?
That's tachypnea. Could be from anxiety, pain, or hypoxia. Gotta figure out the cause but
monitor breathing closely.
During chest percussion, dullness is heard over one lung base.
What might that indicate?
Dullness usually means there’s something denser than air—like fluid (pleural effusion) or
consolidation (like pneumonia).
A nurse sees a COPD patient on 6L/min nasal cannula.
What’s wrong with this oxygen level?
That’s too high for COPD. They rely on low O2 to trigger breathing, so too much can stop
their drive to breathe. Usually keep it under 3L/min unless otherwise ordered.
A patient suddenly has absent breath sounds on the left after a central line was inserted.
What’s the priority?
Suspect pneumothorax—collapsed lung. That’s an emergency. Call the provider and get a
chest X-ray ASAP.
