Assessment of an alert and oriented 9-year-old child with a history of asthma reveals him to be breathing 20 times a minute with adequate chest rise and fall. You also note that he exhibits nasal flaring and has slight retractions of the intercostal muscles. His heart rate is 100 beats per minute and his blood pressure is 102/64 mmHg. On room air, he has a pulse oximeter reading of 98%. The EMT would recognize:

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The child is exhibiting signs of respiratory distress, but his oxygen saturation is still within normal limits on room air. The presence of nasal flaring and retractions indicate that he is working harder to breathe, but he is still able to maintain adequate oxygenation. This is considered compensated respiratory distress. If the child's oxygen saturation were to decrease or if his respiratory effort were to become even more labored, he could progress to hypoxic respiratory failure or decompensated respiratory failure. However, at this point, the best choice is A, compensated respiratory distress.

Assessment of an Alert and Oriented 9-Year-Old Child with a History