Practice Question
A nurse is caring for an adult client who requires nasopharyngeal suctioning. Which of the following actions should the nurse take?
Answer Choices:
Correct Answer:
Set the suction device to 120 mm Hg.
Rationale:
🌬️ For adult suctioning, safe suction pressure typically ranges around 100–150 mm Hg, and 120 mm Hg is within this recommended range.
🌬️ Using appropriate suction pressure helps remove secretions while minimizing mucosal trauma.
🌬️ Too high pressure can cause bleeding, irritation, and potential damage to the nasopharyngeal tissues.
🌬️ Proper suction setting is a key part of safe airway management.
🌬️ Therefore, setting the device to 120 mm Hg is an appropriate action.
Have the client tuck his chin to his chest during suctioning.
🌬️ Tucking the chin to the chest is more commonly used to protect the airway during swallowing, not for nasopharyngeal suctioning.
🌬️ For suctioning, the client’s head is generally kept in a neutral or slightly extended position to allow easier passage of the catheter.
🌬️ Chin-tucking may actually narrow the airway passage and make catheter insertion more difficult.
🌬️ This position does not enhance the effectiveness of nasopharyngeal suction.
🌬️ Thus, this is not the best action in this context.
Apply a petroleum-based lubricant to the catheter.
🌬️ For suctioning procedures, a water-soluble lubricant should be used, not a petroleum-based product.
🌬️ Petroleum-based lubricants can increase the risk of aspiration-related complications and are not safe for use in the respiratory tract.
🌬️ They may also interfere with certain respiratory equipment and are not recommended in airway procedures.
🌬️ Water-soluble lubricants are safer and easier to clear if small amounts enter the airway.
🌬️ Therefore, applying a petroleum-based lubricant is incorrect.
Apply suction to the catheter during insertion.
🌬️ Suction should never be applied during insertion because it can cause mucosal trauma and hypoxia.
🌬️ Standard practice is to insert the catheter without suction, then apply suction only while withdrawing the catheter, using a rotating motion.
🌬️ Applying suction on the way in can also pull tissue into the catheter opening, increasing injury risk.
🌬️ This also lengthens the time of continuous suction, worsening oxygen desaturation.
🌬️ Thus, applying suction during insertion is unsafe and incorrect.
Want to practice more questions like this?
This question is from RN Fundamentals 2023 EXAM 7 which contains 69 questions.
More Questions from This Exam
A nurse is caring for a client who has a urinary tract infection.
Answer Choices:
A nurse is caring for a client on a medical-surgical unit.
Answer Choices:
A nurse is teaching a newly licensed nurse about the use of a fentanyl transdermal patch. Which of the following instructions should the nurse include in the teaching?
Answer Choices:
A nurse is preparing to transfer a client who is immobile and weighs 104.3 kg (230 lb) from the bed to a stretcher. Which of the following actions should the nurse plan to take?
Answer Choices:
A nurse is assessing a client who had a total abdominal hysterectomy 24 hr ago. Which of the following findings should the nurse identify as a potential postoperative complication?
Answer Choices:
Question Details
- Category: RN Nursing Exam(s)
- Subcategory: ATI Exam(s)
- Domain: RN ATI Fundamentals of Nursing
- Answer Choices: 4