Chapter 22: Management of Patients With
Upper Respiratory Tract Disorders Questions
with Answers 2025
The nurse is providing patient teaching to a young mother who has brought her 3-month-old infant to
the clinic for a well-baby checkup. What action should the nurse recommend to the woman to prevent
the transmission of organisms to her infant during the cold season?
A) Take preventative antibiotics, as ordered.
B) Gargle with warm salt water regularly.
C) Dress herself and her infant warmly.
D) Wash her hands frequently. - correct answers-Ans: D
Feedback: Handwashing remains the most effective preventive measure to reduce the transmission of
organisms. Taking prescribed antibiotics, using warm salt-water gargles, and dressing warmly do not
suppress transmission. Antibiotics are not prescribed for a cold.
A patient visiting the clinic is diagnosed with acute sinusitis. To promote sinus drainage, the nurse
should instruct the patient to perform which of the following?
A) Apply a cold pack to the affected area.
B) Apply a mustard poultice to the forehead.
C) Perform postural drainage.
D) Increase fluid intake. - correct answers-Ans: D
Feedback: For a patient diagnosed with acute sinusitis, the nurse should instruct the patient that hot
packs, increasing fluid intake, and elevating the head of the bed can promote drainage. Applying a
mustard poultice will not promote sinus drainage. Postural drainage is used to remove bronchial
secretions.
The nurse is creating a plan of car for a patient diagnosed with acute laryngitis. What intervention
should be included in the patients plan of care?
A) Place warm cloths on the patients throat, as needed.
B) Have the patient inhale warm steam three times daily.
C) Encourage the patient to limit speech whenever possible.
D) Limit the patients fluid intake to 1.5 L/day. - correct answers-Ans: C
Feedback: Management of acute laryngitis includes resting the voice, avoiding irritants (including
smoking), resting, and inhaling cool steam or an aerosol. Fluid intake should be increased. Warm cloths
on the throat will not help relieve the symptoms of acute laryngitis.
, A patient comes to the ED and is admitted with epistaxis. Pressure has been applied to the patients
midline septum for 10 minutes, but the bleeding continues. The nurse should anticipate using what
treatment to control the bleeding?
A) Irrigation with a hypertonic solution
B) Nasopharyngeal suction
C) Normal saline application
D) Silver nitrate application - correct answers-Ans: D
Feedback: If pressure to the midline septum does not stop the bleeding for epistaxis, additional
treatment of silver nitrate application, Gelfoam, electrocautery, or vasoconstrictors may be used.
Suction may be used to visualize the nasal septum, but it does not alleviate the bleeding. Irrigation with
a hypertonic solution is not used to treat epistaxis.
The nurse is planning the care of a patient who is scheduled for a laryngectomy. The nurse should assign
the highest priority to which postoperative nursing diagnosis?
A) Anxiety related to diagnosis of cancer
B) Altered nutrition related to swallowing difficulties
C) Ineffective airway clearance related to airway alterations
D) Impaired verbal communication related to removal of the larynx - correct answers-Ans: C
Feedback: Each of the listed diagnoses is valid, but ineffective airway clearance is the priority nursing
diagnosis for all conditions.
The home care nurse is assessing the home environment of a patient who will be discharged from the
hospital shortly after his laryngectomy. The nurse should inform the patient that he may need to
arrange for the installation of which system in his home?
A) A humidification system
B) An air conditioning system
C) A water purification system
D) A radiant heating system - correct answers-Ans: A
Feedback: The nurse stresses the importance of humidification at home and instructs the family to
obtain and set up a humidification system before the patient returns home. Air-conditioning may be too
cool and too drying for the patient. A water purification system or a radiant heating system is not
necessary.
The nurse is caring for a patient whose recent unexplained weight loss and history of smoking have
prompted diagnostic testing for cancer. What symptom is most closely associated with the early stages
of laryngeal cancer?
A) Hoarseness
Upper Respiratory Tract Disorders Questions
with Answers 2025
The nurse is providing patient teaching to a young mother who has brought her 3-month-old infant to
the clinic for a well-baby checkup. What action should the nurse recommend to the woman to prevent
the transmission of organisms to her infant during the cold season?
A) Take preventative antibiotics, as ordered.
B) Gargle with warm salt water regularly.
C) Dress herself and her infant warmly.
D) Wash her hands frequently. - correct answers-Ans: D
Feedback: Handwashing remains the most effective preventive measure to reduce the transmission of
organisms. Taking prescribed antibiotics, using warm salt-water gargles, and dressing warmly do not
suppress transmission. Antibiotics are not prescribed for a cold.
A patient visiting the clinic is diagnosed with acute sinusitis. To promote sinus drainage, the nurse
should instruct the patient to perform which of the following?
A) Apply a cold pack to the affected area.
B) Apply a mustard poultice to the forehead.
C) Perform postural drainage.
D) Increase fluid intake. - correct answers-Ans: D
Feedback: For a patient diagnosed with acute sinusitis, the nurse should instruct the patient that hot
packs, increasing fluid intake, and elevating the head of the bed can promote drainage. Applying a
mustard poultice will not promote sinus drainage. Postural drainage is used to remove bronchial
secretions.
The nurse is creating a plan of car for a patient diagnosed with acute laryngitis. What intervention
should be included in the patients plan of care?
A) Place warm cloths on the patients throat, as needed.
B) Have the patient inhale warm steam three times daily.
C) Encourage the patient to limit speech whenever possible.
D) Limit the patients fluid intake to 1.5 L/day. - correct answers-Ans: C
Feedback: Management of acute laryngitis includes resting the voice, avoiding irritants (including
smoking), resting, and inhaling cool steam or an aerosol. Fluid intake should be increased. Warm cloths
on the throat will not help relieve the symptoms of acute laryngitis.
, A patient comes to the ED and is admitted with epistaxis. Pressure has been applied to the patients
midline septum for 10 minutes, but the bleeding continues. The nurse should anticipate using what
treatment to control the bleeding?
A) Irrigation with a hypertonic solution
B) Nasopharyngeal suction
C) Normal saline application
D) Silver nitrate application - correct answers-Ans: D
Feedback: If pressure to the midline septum does not stop the bleeding for epistaxis, additional
treatment of silver nitrate application, Gelfoam, electrocautery, or vasoconstrictors may be used.
Suction may be used to visualize the nasal septum, but it does not alleviate the bleeding. Irrigation with
a hypertonic solution is not used to treat epistaxis.
The nurse is planning the care of a patient who is scheduled for a laryngectomy. The nurse should assign
the highest priority to which postoperative nursing diagnosis?
A) Anxiety related to diagnosis of cancer
B) Altered nutrition related to swallowing difficulties
C) Ineffective airway clearance related to airway alterations
D) Impaired verbal communication related to removal of the larynx - correct answers-Ans: C
Feedback: Each of the listed diagnoses is valid, but ineffective airway clearance is the priority nursing
diagnosis for all conditions.
The home care nurse is assessing the home environment of a patient who will be discharged from the
hospital shortly after his laryngectomy. The nurse should inform the patient that he may need to
arrange for the installation of which system in his home?
A) A humidification system
B) An air conditioning system
C) A water purification system
D) A radiant heating system - correct answers-Ans: A
Feedback: The nurse stresses the importance of humidification at home and instructs the family to
obtain and set up a humidification system before the patient returns home. Air-conditioning may be too
cool and too drying for the patient. A water purification system or a radiant heating system is not
necessary.
The nurse is caring for a patient whose recent unexplained weight loss and history of smoking have
prompted diagnostic testing for cancer. What symptom is most closely associated with the early stages
of laryngeal cancer?
A) Hoarseness
