Question

The nurse auscultates crackles at the bases of lungs of a client with adult respiratory distress. The nurse knows that these adventitious lung sounds are due to?

1) Inflammation of the bronchi
2) Fluid in the alveoli
3) Airway obstruction
4) Collapse of the alveoli

Answer 1

Crackles at the bases of the lungs as heard by auscultation indicate the presence of fluid in the alveoli, which is characteristic of conditions like pneumonia, indicating option 2 as the correct answer.

Step-by-step explanation:

The nurse is correct to associate the adventitious lung sounds, specifically crackles at the bases of the lungs, with the presence of fluid in the alveoli. These sounds are characteristic of pneumonia, a condition in which the alveoli become inflamed and fill with fluid, inhibiting proper gas exchange. When the fluid accumulates in the alveoli, it leads to the creation of the crackling sound that can be heard during auscultation. Conditions like congestive heart failure and other types of lung infections can also result in fluid build-up causing similar sounds. Therefore, among the given options, the most accurate is that these sounds are due to fluid in the alveoli (Option 2).