Question

You are assisting an asthma patient with his prescribed metered dose inhaler. After the patient exhales, and before inhaling, the patient should put his or her lips around the inhaler, take a deep breath and deep pressed to inhale. You should:

A. Immediately reapply the oxygen mask and reassess his condition.
B. Allowing him to breathe room air and assess his oxygen saturation.
C. Advise him to Exhale forcibly to ensure medication absorption.
D. Instruct him to hold his breath for as long as he comfortably can.

Answer 1

The correct action when assisting an asthma patient using a metered dose inhaler is to instruct them to hold their breath for as long as comfortably possible to ensure the medication is absorbed in the alveoli.

Step-by-step explanation:

When assisting an asthma patient with using their prescribed metered dose inhaler, the recommended step after the patient puts their lips around the inhaler and takes a deep breath is D. Instruct him to hold his breath for as long as he comfortably can. This is to allow for optimal absorption of the medication into the lungs, particularly within the alveoli where gas exchange occurs.

Since the alveoli are tiny sacs lined with mucus that are capable of collapsing and inflating due to surface tension, holding the breath allows the medication to reach these alveoli effectively, without being prematurely exhaled. It is not advisable to exhale forcibly after inhaler use, as this would expel the medication before it has a chance to act. Therefore, option "D" is the correct action to follow.