A 9-year-old male presents to the emergency room complaining of "chest tightness" and difficulty breathing. The RN notes that he is frequently coughing and wheezes are ausculated in all lung fields. His chest x-ray shows a flattened diaphragm and overexpanded lungs. The patient's mother reports that he had five episodes like this one over the past few years, but none this bad. Recently, the patient has had more frequent episodes of difficulty breathing and coughing, each lasting for a few hours. He does not take any medications at home.
-The RN most accurately describes the pathophysiology of the patients asthma as an ________.

Question

A 9-year-old male presents to the emergency room complaining of "chest tightness" and difficulty breathing. The RN notes that he is frequently coughing and wheezes are ausculated in all lung fields. His chest x-ray shows a flattened diaphragm and overexpanded lungs. The patient's mother reports that he had five episodes like this one over the past few years, but none this bad. Recently, the patient has had more frequent episodes of difficulty breathing and coughing, each lasting for a few hours. He does not take any medications at home. 
-The RN most accurately describes the pathophysiology of the patients asthma as an ________.

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The patient's asthma is most likely caused by an IgE-mediated response with hypersensitive lung tissue reacting to products of mast cell degranulation, leading to bronchoconstriction and difficulty breathing. This is consistent with the patient's symptoms and history of asthma. The other options, IgE response with fighting against its own lung tissue (B) and IgG response (C, D), are not accurate descriptions of asthma pathophysiology.

A 9-Year-Old Male Presents to the Emergency Room Complaining of "Chest