Question

A patient with a weak cough has secretions in the lower airway. What would be an appropriate response by the nurse?

A) Oropharyngeal suctioning.
B) Nasopharyngeal suctioning.
C) Nasotracheal suctioning.
D) Quad cough.

Answer 1

For a patient with secretions in the lower airway and a weak cough, nasotracheal suctioning is an appropriate nurse intervention to clear the secretions.

Step-by-step explanation:

A patient with a weak cough who has secretions in the lower airway would benefit from an intervention that helps clear these secretions. An appropriate response by the nurse would be C) Nasotracheal suctioning. This procedure involves inserting a suction catheter into the trachea through the nose to remove secretions from the lower airway. It is often used when a patient is unable to clear secretions effectively due to a weak cough or other impairments. Other methods such as oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal suctioning are less suitable as they target the upper airway, and a quad cough requires the patient to have some control over their abdominal muscles, which might not be feasible in this scenario.