When assessing a client with dyspnea, the nurse hears an audible inspiratory crowing sound. Which lung sound should the nurse document?

When assessing a client with dyspnea, the nurse hears an audible inspiratory crowing sound. Which lung sound should the nurse document?

• A. Stridor
• B. Wheeze
• C. Crackles
• D. Rhonchi

Answer: (A)

An audible inspiratory crowing sound points to an upper airway obstruction, which is most accurately described as stridor. Stridor arises when air is forced through a narrowed larynx or trachea, often due to swelling, a foreign body, or other blockage at the level above the thoracic inlet. This sound is typically heard during inspiration because the airway narrows as air enters the chest, making turbulence most noticeable then. Wheeze, by contrast, is a high-pitched musical sound usually produced by narrowing in the smaller airways of the lungs and is often heard more prominently on expiration. Crackles are popping, discontinuous sounds heard during inspiration from fluid in the alveoli or collapse of small airways. Rhonchi are low-pitched, snoring sounds from secretions in larger airways and may clear with coughing. Because the clue here is the inspiratory crowing quality, the finding best fits stridor, signaling potential urgent upper airway compromise.

An audible inspiratory crowing sound points to an upper airway obstruction, which is most accurately described as stridor. Stridor arises when air is forced through a narrowed larynx or trachea, often due to swelling, a foreign body, or other blockage at the level above the thoracic inlet. This sound is typically heard during inspiration because the airway narrows as air enters the chest, making turbulence most noticeable then.

Wheeze, by contrast, is a high-pitched musical sound usually produced by narrowing in the smaller airways of the lungs and is often heard more prominently on expiration. Crackles are popping, discontinuous sounds heard during inspiration from fluid in the alveoli or collapse of small airways. Rhonchi are low-pitched, snoring sounds from secretions in larger airways and may clear with coughing. Because the clue here is the inspiratory crowing quality, the finding best fits stridor, signaling potential urgent upper airway compromise.