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NCLEX Airway Emergencies: 3 Free Practice Questions

Try three NCLEX-style airway-emergency questions with every option explained in English or Taglish. No account needed; complete worked answers included.

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Try three airway-emergency questions

Choose an answer, check your reasoning, then compare every option. No account is needed. Your choices last only while this page is open.

Questions and explanations follow your English or Taglish setting. This shared article is in English.

Question 1 of 3

Supporting breathing before waiting for a medicine

In a monitored recovery area, an adult who recently received an IV opioid is difficult to arouse and has shallow breathing at 4/min. A definite pulse is present at 92/min. Oxygen saturation is 96% while receiving oxygen by nasal cannula. Which response best addresses the immediate threat?

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1. Supporting breathing before waiting for a medicine

In a monitored recovery area, an adult who recently received an IV opioid is difficult to arouse and has shallow breathing at 4/min. A definite pulse is present at 92/min. Oxygen saturation is 96% while receiving oxygen by nasal cannula. Which response best addresses the immediate threat?

Best answer: B

  • A. Increase nasal oxygen and wait five minutes before taking further action. More oxygen alone does not provide adequate ventilation when breathing is very slow and shallow. Waiting leaves the immediate breathing problem untreated.
  • B. Call for emergency help, open the airway and provide bag-mask ventilation while another team member prepares naloxone under protocol. A definite pulse with inadequate breathing requires immediate airway and ventilation support. Coordinate emergency help and naloxone under protocol; do not delay assisted breathing while waiting for the medicine.
  • C. Walk the client a short distance to increase alertness. Walking is unsafe for a difficult-to-arouse client with inadequate breathing and delays respiratory support.
  • D. Withhold further opioid and wait for naloxone to arrive before assisting breathing. Withholding further opioid is appropriate, but waiting for naloxone does not address the current inadequate ventilation. Support breathing while the antagonist is prepared.

Decisive cue: Breathing is shallow at 4/min, even though a pulse is present and oxygen saturation is 96% on supplemental oxygen.

Assess breathing depth and rate alongside oxygen saturation. Supplemental oxygen does not replace assisted ventilation.

AHA 2025: life-threatening opioid overdose · 2026-10-08

2. Acting promptly on suspected anaphylaxis

Minutes after an IV antibiotic begins, an adult develops lip and tongue swelling, wheezing and a blood pressure of 78/44 mm Hg. The infusion has been stopped and emergency help has been called. The nurse has immediate access to the facility anaphylaxis protocol and prescribed emergency medicines. Which medication action is the priority?

Best answer: C

  • A. Give an antihistamine first and reassess before using epinephrine. An antihistamine does not treat life-threatening airway, breathing or circulation problems. It must not delay epinephrine in this presentation.
  • B. Give a corticosteroid first and wait for the swelling to improve. A corticosteroid is not the first-line emergency treatment for these airway and circulation problems. Waiting delays the priority treatment.
  • C. Give intramuscular epinephrine promptly under the anaphylaxis protocol while the team supports airway, breathing and circulation. Sudden airway swelling, wheezing and hypotension after a possible trigger are consistent with suspected anaphylaxis. Prompt IM epinephrine is the first-line medication; continue coordinated emergency assessment and support.
  • D. Wait for a laboratory test to confirm anaphylaxis before giving epinephrine. Anaphylaxis is recognized clinically in an emergency. Waiting for a test leaves the airway and circulatory threat untreated.

Decisive cue: Airway swelling, wheezing and hypotension began abruptly after the antibiotic; help is already activated.

Treat the clinical emergency promptly. Antihistamines, corticosteroids and confirmatory tests must not delay first-line IM epinephrine.

Resuscitation Council UK 2025: anaphylaxis · 2026-10-08

3. Looking beyond a normal oxygen reading

An adult hospitalized with Guillain–Barré syndrome has increasing weakness. Over the past hour, the cough has become weak, breathing looks shallow and the client can no longer finish a short sentence in one breath. Oxygen saturation is 97% on room air. Which response is most appropriate now?

Best answer: D

  • A. Continue routine observations because the oxygen saturation is normal. A normal oxygen reading does not establish adequate respiratory muscle strength or ventilation. New weak cough and shallow breathing require urgent assessment.
  • B. Offer oral fluids to clear secretions before seeking respiratory assessment. Oral fluids do not assess or correct the new respiratory weakness. Weak cough also raises concern about airway protection; assess swallowing safety rather than offer fluids first.
  • C. Ask the client to walk and repeat breathing exercises before notifying the team. Exertion and repeated exercises delay assessment of possible respiratory deterioration. They are not a substitute for evaluating the weak cough and changing breathing pattern.
  • D. Activate urgent help for respiratory and airway assessment, monitor closely and prepare for assisted ventilation if needed. Progressive weakness with weak cough and shallow breathing can signal impending respiratory failure in GBS. Escalate promptly for respiratory measurements and airway assessment; prepare support based on the clinical assessment rather than waiting for oxygen saturation to fall.

Decisive cue: The trend is worsening respiratory weakness with weak cough and difficulty speaking in one breath, despite 97% oxygen saturation.

Use the clinical trend, cough and respiratory assessment together. One oxygen-saturation value cannot rule out ventilatory failure.

GBS expert consensus (2019): respiratory monitoring · 2026-10-08

Original educational examples, not official NCLEX items or clinical care protocols. Sources were checked with automated review; credentialed clinician sign-off is not claimed.

This shared guide is in English. The practice questions and explanations above follow your selected language.

A reassuring oxygen reading can sit beside a worrying breathing assessment. Try the three questions above, then compare every option and the cue that makes waiting unsafe. No account is required. Your choices stay on this page and reset on refresh.

Questions and explanations follow your English or Taglish setting. This shared article is in English. Open Read all worked answers for the complete set, including without JavaScript.

By SteadyRN. These are original educational examples, not official NCLEX items or clinical care protocols. Sources were checked through automated review; credentialed clinician sign-off is not claimed. See our editorial methodology.

What these questions teach

1. Separate oxygenation from ventilation

In the opioid example, the client has a definite pulse but very slow, shallow breathing. Supplemental oxygen does not replace effective ventilation. The 2025 American Heart Association opioid-overdose recommendations support breathing assistance and timely naloxone without delaying resuscitation while waiting for the medicine. The Resuscitation Council UK ABCDE approach explains why pulse oximetry does not detect carbon dioxide retention. Compare what each option leaves untreated.

2. Recognize the medication priority in suspected anaphylaxis

The antibiotic infusion has already been stopped and emergency help called. The question asks what medication action comes next with a protocol available. The 2025 Resuscitation Council UK special-circumstances guidance recommends prompt intramuscular adrenaline, also called epinephrine, for anaphylaxis. Its detailed May 2021 anaphylaxis guideline explains why antihistamines and corticosteroids must not delay initial emergency treatment. This example does not teach dosing or replace the emergency team's airway, breathing and circulation care.

3. Read the respiratory trend

The Guillain–Barré example combines increasing weakness, a weaker cough and difficulty finishing a short sentence in one breath. Those changes deserve urgent assessment even with a normal oxygen reading. The 2019 international consensus on Guillain–Barré syndrome discusses respiratory assessment, coughing and swallowing in steps 3 and 6. The decision here is to escalate and prepare support; it is not an instruction to use one oxygen value as an intubation threshold.

Build a reasoning note

After each example, write down:

  • The cue I used: breathing depth and rate, a sudden multisystem reaction, or worsening respiratory strength.
  • The delay I avoided: waiting for a medicine, a test result, or a falling oxygen reading.
  • What I would verify in practice: the emergency protocol, available support, and the team's current assessment.

These three examples do not cover every airway emergency or estimate exam readiness. Follow current clinical protocols and qualified supervision in patient care.

Keep practicing

Use the topic links below for more no-account examples. The separate account bank offers 30 free questions in English and Taglish and requires a free account. The readiness check is a broader study-planning tool, not a pass guarantee.

Sources checked 8 October 2026: AHA 2025 opioid-overdose recommendations; RCUK 2025 anaphylaxis guidance, its detailed May 2021 guideline and ABCDE approach; and the dated 2019 GBS international consensus linked above. Automated source and language review is not clinical or native-language human certification. Report a correction.

Continue with three worked pediatric-priority questions.