Lung Sounds & Auscultation: Crackles, Wheezes, Stridor

1. A patient with pneumonia has crackles that clear after coughing. What does this suggest?

Secretions in the airways

Fluid in the pleural space

Bronchial obstruction

Pulmonary embolism

2. Biphasic stridor (heard during both inspiration and expiration) typically suggests obstruction at which level?

Small airways

Fixed upper airway level

Alveolar level

Pleural space

3. A patient on diuretics for heart failure now has clear lungs on auscultation. Previously, bilateral crackles were present. What does this indicate?

Disease progression

Treatment effectiveness

Development of pneumonia

Worsening heart function

4. During lung sounds & auscultation assessment, you detect late inspiratory crackles. Which pathology is most consistent?

Early pneumonia

Pulmonary fibrosis

Acute asthma

Tracheal stenosis

5. A patient with atelectasis (collapsed lung tissue) would demonstrate which auscultatory finding?

Wheezes throughout the field

Absent or diminished breath sounds

Bilateral fine crackles

Loud bronchial sounds

6. Stridor that worsens with agitation or crying in a young child suggests which diagnosis?

Laryngotracheobronchitis (croup)

Epiglottitis

Foreign body aspiration

Bacterial tracheitis

7. A patient with congestive heart failure has bilateral crackles at the lung bases. These sounds are caused by which mechanism?

Airway inflammation

Fluid accumulation in alveoli

Bronchial secretions

Pleural thickening

8. When performing lung auscultation, you hear early inspiratory crackles. Which condition is most likely?

Chronic bronchitis

Asthma

Interstitial lung disease

Acute bronchitis

9. A patient with asthma during an acute exacerbation presents with silent chest on auscultation. What does this indicate?

Mild airway obstruction

Severe airway obstruction

Resolving bronchospasm

Normal lung function

10. Pleural friction rub is best described as a sound similar to which everyday sound?

Leather creaking

Wind whistling

Water bubbling

Paper rustling

11. Which lung sound is characterized by high-pitched, continuous musical sounds heard during inspiration or expiration?

Crackles

Wheezes

Stridor

Rhonchi

12. Rhonchi are low-pitched, continuous sounds. What is the primary cause of rhonchi?

Fluid in small airways

Secretions in large airways

Bronchial spasm

Pleural friction

13. A patient presents with acute epiglottitis. Which breath sound would you expect to hear?

Bilateral wheezes

Inspiratory stridor

Fine crackles

Absent breath sounds

14. When auscultating lung sounds, at which anatomical position should crackles from pulmonary edema typically be heard first?

Apices bilaterally

Posterior bases bilaterally

Right middle lobe

Left anterior chest

15. A patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has prolonged expiratory wheezes. This finding is consistent with which pathophysiology?

Air trapping and airway collapse

Fluid accumulation in alveoli

Upper airway obstruction

Pleural inflammation

16. Wheezes heard on expiration suggest obstruction in which part of the airway?

Large airways

Small airways

Larynx

Alveoli

17. A child with croup presents with a characteristic barking cough and inspiratory stridor. Which organism most likely causes this condition?

Haemophilus influenzae

Parainfluenza virus

Streptococcus pneumoniae

Respiratory syncytial virus

18. Coarse crackles are best described as which type of sound?

High-pitched, musical sounds

Low-pitched, bubbling sounds

Continuous whistling sounds

Rubbing or scratching sounds

19. Stridor is an abnormal breath sound typically heard without a stethoscope. Where is stridor most commonly heard?

Lower lung lobes

Over the larynx or trachea

Bilateral lung fields

Upper lung apices

20. A patient presents with fine crackles in the lung bases. Which condition is most commonly associated with this finding?