Question

When you enter a child's room, you hear him wheezing on exhalation and see intercostal retractions and nasal flaring. What is his airway status?

1) His airway is open and patent.
2) He has an inadequate airway.
3) He has no obstruction to airflow.
4) His airway is normal for a child.

Answer 1

A child with wheezing on exhalation, intercostal retractions, and nasal flaring likely has an inadequate airway, indicating symptoms of an obstructive lung disease such as asthma, which requires medical attention.

Step-by-step explanation:

When you enter a child's room and observe wheezing on exhalation, intercostal retractions, and nasal flaring, the child has an inadequate airway. These symptoms suggest that air is not passing freely through the child's respiratory tract due to some form of obstructive lung disease. The wheezing is caused by the narrowing of the airways, intercostal retractions are a sign of the child working harder to breathe, and nasal flaring indicates increased effort to move air in and out of the lungs. Intercostal retractions and nasal flaring are not normal for children and point towards a potential asthma issue or other respiratory condition necessitating medical evaluation and treatment.