Pediatric respiratory emergency practice test - PALS pretest

The quiz
You are on an ambulance and respond to a 10-year-old with breathing difficulty. Upon arrival, the child is sitting leaning forward on the couch in obvious respiratory distress. Her heart rate is 140/min, BP 106/68, respiratory rate is 40/min, SpO2 is 86% on room air, she is afebrile, and she weighs 35 kg.


about 3–5 minutes

You are on an ambulance and respond to a 10-year-old with breathing difficulty. Upon arrival, the child is sitting leaning forward on the couch in obvious respiratory distress. Her heart rate is 140/min, BP 106/68, respiratory rate is 40/min, SpO2 is 86% on room air, she is afebrile, and she weighs 35 kg.

Question 1 of 5

What should be done immediately for this patient?

Question 2 of 5

In what position should this patient be transported?

Question 3 of 5

What information would help in deciding your next treatment by helping diagnose lower airway obstruction?

Question 4 of 5

What medications would be helpful in the treatment of this patient?

Question 5 of 5

Suddenly, the patient’s respiratory rate drops from 40/min to 6/min. What should you do immediately?

Get an email copy of your results now, and a reminder when you need to recertify:

Please provide email address.

You scored #%

The quiz

Correct answers

  • Administer 100% oxygen and prepare to assist ventilation
  • In a position of comfort for the child. This will usually be the tripod position
  • Lung sounds revealing wheezing and/or little air movement
  • Nebulized albuterol or nebulized ipratropium
  • Ventilate the patient with a bag valve mask

Thanks for taking our quiz, now please tell a friend and follow us for more.

Get PALS Certified See More Quizzes

Finish the quizzes. The confetti means you are ready for the ACLS course.

How we reviewed this article

Our experts continually monitor the medical science space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.

Current version
Aug 20, 2026

Reviewed by:

Aug 9, 2026

Copy edited by:

Copy editors
Changes: Added instant feedback to the quizzes.