Knowing a drug's half-life enables the physician to determine the:

Choice A rationale

Avoiding palpation of tender areas completely would be an incomplete assessment. While direct, forceful palpation of an acutely tender area should be approached cautiously, it is essential to gently assess the area's boundaries, consistency, and the presence of rebound tenderness or guarding to gather crucial diagnostic information.

Choice B rationale

Examining the tender area first in an abdominal assessment can cause significant pain and muscle guarding, making it difficult to assess other quadrants effectively and potentially skewing the assessment findings. This approach can also reduce patient cooperation for the remainder of the examination.

Choice C rationale

Auscultation for bowel sounds typically precedes palpation in an abdominal assessment because palpation can alter bowel motility and therefore the character of bowel sounds. While palpating the tender area last is correct, performing auscultation after palpation would introduce an artifact.

Choice D rationale

Examining the tender area last is the correct technique during an abdominal assessment. This approach minimizes patient discomfort, allows for a more thorough and accurate assessment of the non-tender areas first, and helps to establish rapport before eliciting potential pain, thereby ensuring a more reliable and complete examination.

Choice A rationale

Albuterol is a selective beta-2 adrenergic agonist. Its primary action is bronchodilation by stimulating beta-2 receptors in the bronchial smooth muscle, leading to relaxation and widening of the airways. It does not directly suppress the cough reflex, which is a protective mechanism to clear airways. Cough suppression is typically achieved by antitussive medications acting on the central nervous system or peripheral cough receptors.

Choice B rationale

Albuterol is a short-acting beta-agonist (SABA), characterized by a rapid onset of action and relatively short duration (4-6 hours). Therefore, it is used for immediate relief of bronchospasm and acute symptoms of asthma, not for long-term daily maintenance. Long-term maintenance medications include inhaled corticosteroids or long-acting beta-agonists (LABAs) used consistently to control inflammation and prevent exacerbations.

Choice C rationale

Albuterol's rapid onset of action and potent bronchodilatory effects make it the ideal medication for acute relief of bronchospasm in asthma. It is used as a "rescue" inhaler to quickly open airways during an asthma attack or before exercise to prevent exercise-induced bronchospasm. This immediate effect is crucial for alleviating respiratory distress.

Choice D rationale

Post-tussive emesis, or vomiting after coughing, is often a symptom of severe coughing spells. While albuterol can alleviate coughing by reducing bronchospasm, its primary mechanism is not to prevent emesis directly. Emesis is a gastrointestinal reflex; albuterol's action is primarily on the respiratory system. Addressing the underlying cause of severe coughing would indirectly reduce emesis.