Learn what retractions are, their causes and types, how they are assessed, and which treatments may help reduce breathing difficulty.
Patient Assessment
Eupnea: Normal Breathing Pattern and Clinical Assessment
Learn what eupnea means, including normal breathing rate, rhythm, depth, effort, sighing, assessment, and signs of abnormal breathing.
Nasal Flaring: Causes, Clinical Signs, and Assessment
Learn what nasal flaring means, what causes it, and how it helps identify increased work of breathing and respiratory distress.
Modified Borg Dyspnea Scale (MBS): Scoring and Clinical Use
Learn how the Modified Borg Dyspnea Scale (MBS) measures breathlessness, including scoring, clinical uses, and interpretation.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): Uses in Respiratory Care
Learn how magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) works, when it’s used in respiratory care, and key safety concerns for ventilated patients.
Sputum Evaluation: Color, Consistency, Odor, and Volume
Learn how to evaluate sputum color, consistency, odor, and volume to assess infection, airway clearance, and respiratory status.
Radiographic Findings: Key Signs in Respiratory Care
Learn radiographic findings, chest x-ray patterns, and key imaging clues used to assess lung conditions and guide respiratory care.
Digital Clubbing: Causes, Signs, and Clinical Meaning
Learn what digital clubbing means, how to recognize it, and which chronic lung, heart, and systemic diseases it may suggest.
Vaping and E-Cigarettes in Respiratory Care
Learn how vaping and e-cigarettes affect respiratory health, including nicotine addiction, EVALI, assessment, and patient education.
Medical Record Components in Respiratory Care Practice
Learn how medical records guide respiratory care decisions, provider orders, documentation, patient safety, and clinical practice.
Hyperresonance on Percussion: Causes and Key Clinical Signs
Learn what hyperresonance on percussion means, including its causes, assessment findings, and links to pneumothorax, asthma, and COPD.
Asymmetrical Chest Movement: Causes and Clinical Meaning
Learn what asymmetrical chest movement means, including common causes, assessment techniques, and key respiratory findings.
Hypotension: Signs, Causes, and Clinical Management
Learn what hypotension means, including causes, signs, assessment tips, and why low blood pressure matters in respiratory care.
Heart Sounds in Bedside Cardiopulmonary Assessment
Learn heart sounds, including S1, S2, S3, S4, murmurs, gallops, abnormal findings, and their role in cardiopulmonary assessment.
Lateral Neck Radiograph for Upper Airway Assessment
Learn how lateral neck radiographs help identify croup, epiglottitis, foreign bodies, enlarged adenoids, and upper-airway obstruction.
How to Detect Foreign Body Aspiration on a Chest X-Ray
Learn how to identify foreign body aspiration on a chest X-ray, recognize key signs, and choose the right imaging for accurate diagnosis.
Inspection and Physical Assessment in Respiratory Care
Learn what inspection means in respiratory assessment, including signs of distress, cyanosis, posture, chest movement, cough, and sputum.
Ventilation-Perfusion (V/Q) Scan: Uses and Key Findings
Learn what a ventilation-perfusion (V/Q) scan shows, how it helps detect a pulmonary embolism, and how the results are interpreted.
Ventricular Fibrillation (VF): Causes, Signs, and Treatment
Learn about ventricular fibrillation, including its causes, ECG signs, symptoms, treatment, and why rapid defibrillation is needed.
Tactile Fremitus: Assessment, Findings, and Clinical Meaning
Learn what tactile fremitus is, how it is assessed, and what increased or decreased findings mean in respiratory care.