References
Clinical References
Scan-speed lookups for the values, settings, and findings RTs need at the bedside — every page cited.
Fundamentals
Breath Sounds Quick Reference
A bedside reference for normal and adventitious breath sounds — vesicular, bronchovesicular, and bronchial sounds plus crackles, wheezes, rhonchi, stridor, and pleural friction rub — with timing, quality, and common causes.
Lung Volumes & Capacities
A reference to the four lung volumes and four capacities - tidal volume, IRV, ERV, and RV, and the IC, FRC, VC, and TLC they combine into - with typical adult values and what each one means clinically.
Respiratory Assessment Quick Reference
A bedside lookup for respiratory assessment - normal vital sign and respiratory-rate ranges, percussion notes, tactile fremitus and tracheal-deviation patterns, the combined exam findings for common conditions, and the work-of-breathing red flags that signal deterioration.
Oxygen Therapy
Oxygen Device Flow Ranges & FiO2
Flow rates and approximate FiO₂ delivered by common oxygen devices — nasal cannula, simple mask, Venturi mask, partial and non-rebreather, HFNC, and trach collar — with the low-flow vs high-flow distinction.
Hypoxemia Severity & Oxygenation Indices
Hypoxemia severity thresholds by PaO₂, the SpO₂–PaO₂ correlation and dissociation-curve shifts, and the oxygenation indices RTs use — P/F ratio, A–a gradient, S/F ratio, and oxygenation index.
Mechanical Ventilation
Ventilator Alarm Troubleshooting
A bedside matrix for common ventilator alarms — high and low pressure, high and low rate, and high minute ventilation — with likely causes, first actions, and the DOPE approach to acute deterioration.
Normal Ventilator Parameters & Weaning Criteria
Target ranges for monitored ventilator parameters — plateau pressure, driving pressure, compliance, resistance, auto-PEEP, and VD/VT — plus the screening thresholds used to assess weaning readiness, including RSBI, MIP, and vital capacity.
NIV Initial Settings
Quick-start settings for noninvasive ventilation — initial bilevel IPAP/EPAP and CPAP pressures, FiO₂ targets, a titration guide, and the monitoring and failure signs that should prompt escalation.
Airway Management
Artificial Airways Reference
A quick reference to artificial airways — oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal airways, supraglottic devices, endotracheal tubes, and tracheostomies — with sizing, cuff-pressure targets, and endotracheal tube confirmation.
Tracheostomy Care Reference
A reference for tracheostomy care — tube anatomy and types, routine inner-cannula and stoma care, humidification, and the emergency management of decannulation, obstruction, and bleeding.
Intubation Equipment & Setup
A pre-intubation setup reference — the SOAP-ME checklist, endotracheal tube sizes and depths for adults and children, laryngoscope blade types, and the backup and rescue devices to have ready.
Critical Care
Vasopressors & Inotropes Reference
The vasopressors and inotropes RTs see running in the ICU — norepinephrine, epinephrine, vasopressin, phenylephrine, dopamine, dobutamine, and milrinone — by receptor activity, primary effect, clinical use, and monitoring notes.
Hemodynamic Parameters Reference
Normal values for the hemodynamic parameters RTs encounter in the ICU — MAP, CVP, PA pressures, PCWP, cardiac output and index, SVR, PVR, stroke volume, and mixed/central venous oxygen saturation — with the key oxygen-delivery equations.
ICU Sedation & Analgesia Agents
The sedatives and analgesics used in the ventilated ICU patient — propofol, dexmedetomidine, benzodiazepines, ketamine, and the opioids — by class, with onset, key features, and RT monitoring notes.
Emergency Respiratory Care
Code Blue: The RT's Role
A bedside reference for the respiratory therapist in an adult cardiac arrest - high-quality CPR metrics, compression-to-ventilation ratios with and without an advanced airway, the capnography targets that track CPR quality and ROSC, and the reversible causes (the H's and T's).
Respiratory Emergency Medications
The drugs an RT administers or assists with in a respiratory emergency - intramuscular epinephrine for anaphylaxis, nebulized epinephrine for airway edema, bronchodilators and magnesium for severe bronchospasm, naloxone for opioid-induced hypoventilation, and the inhaled and code agents to know - with their indication and key cautions.
Pulmonary Diseases
COPD Pharmacologic Management
COPD drug therapy — maintenance bronchodilators and inhaled corticosteroids by class, GOLD group-based initial therapy, and the pharmacology of an acute exacerbation, with bedside RT notes.
Asthma Stepwise Management
GINA stepwise asthma therapy — the Track 1 (ICS-formoterol reliever) and Track 2 (SABA reliever) pathways across steps 1–5, controller and reliever roles, and exacerbation pharmacology.
Pulmonary Disease Severity Classifications
The severity systems RTs must recognize — COPD GOLD spirometric grades, asthma severity and control, the ARDS Berlin definition, and CURB-65 for pneumonia — in one scannable reference.
Aerosol Therapy & Pharmacology
Common Respiratory Medications
A class-by-class reference for inhaled respiratory drugs — SABA, SAMA, LABA, LAMA, inhaled corticosteroids, combinations, mucoactive agents, and specialty inhaled agents — with actions and key RT notes.
Aerosol Device Quick Reference
The aerosol delivery devices side by side — pMDI, pMDI with spacer, DPI, small-volume nebulizer, and soft-mist inhaler — with the inhalation technique, advantages, and limitations of each.
Respiratory Medication Adverse Effects
The adverse effects and bedside monitoring for the inhaled drug classes RTs administer — β₂-agonists, antimuscarinics, inhaled corticosteroids, mucolytics, inhaled nitric oxide, and racemic epinephrine.
Pulmonary Function Testing
PFT Interpretation Reference
A bedside lookup for reading pulmonary function tests - the obstruction and restriction defining patterns, the FEV₁ percent-predicted severity bands, the bronchodilator reversibility criteria, and the DLCO grading - in one scannable reference.
Lung Volume Measurement Methods
How the lung volumes spirometry can't reach are measured - body plethysmography, helium dilution, and nitrogen washout for FRC, RV, and TLC - with what each method captures, its principle, and where it falls short.
Labs & Diagnostics
Normal Laboratory Values: RT Quick Reference
A respiratory-therapist quick reference of normal adult laboratory values — the complete blood count, electrolytes and the metabolic panel, coagulation studies, lactate, the arterial blood gas, and the cardiac biomarkers.
Respiratory Pathogens & Culture Interpretation
A reference to the organisms behind respiratory infection by clinical setting — community- and hospital-acquired pneumonia, aspiration, cystic fibrosis, and the immunocompromised host — with the Gram-stain clues and the tests that identify each.
Chest X-Ray: Tube & Line Placement Quick Reference
Where the tubes and lines should sit on a chest radiograph — endotracheal and tracheostomy tubes, central venous and PICC lines, nasogastric tubes, and chest tubes — with the malposition signs respiratory therapists must catch.
Pleural Fluid: Light’s Criteria & Analysis Reference
A reference to pleural fluid analysis — Light's criteria for separating transudates from exudates and the additional fluid studies (pH, glucose, LDH, cell counts, ADA, amylase, triglycerides) that pin down the cause.
12-Lead ECG for the RT
The 12-lead ECG patterns a respiratory therapist should recognize — ischemia and STEMI, hyperkalemia and hypokalemia, right heart strain and acute PE, COPD signs, and the basics of electrical axis.
Sleep Medicine
OSA Severity & Sleep Study Metrics
AHI severity classification, respiratory event definitions, key sleep study indices (AHI, RDI, REI, ODI), normal sleep architecture, and diagnostic thresholds for obstructive sleep apnea.
PAP Therapy Quick Reference
Quick-reference tables for PAP therapy modalities, mask interfaces, and troubleshooting — covering CPAP, APAP, BiPAP, BiPAP-ST, and ASV with pressure ranges and clinical indications.
Neonatal & Pediatric
Pediatric Vital Signs & Normal Values
Age-banded normal values for the pediatric patient - respiratory rate, heart rate, and systolic blood pressure from newborn through adolescent, plus SpO₂ targets, weight estimation, and the hypotension thresholds that signal decompensation.
Pediatric Airway Equipment Sizing
A bedside sizing reference for the pediatric airway - endotracheal tube internal diameter (cuffed and uncuffed) and insertion depth, laryngoscope blade, suction catheter, and oral/nasal airway and LMA sizes - by age and weight.
Transport Respiratory Care
Transport Oxygen Cylinder Duration Reference
Cylinder factors, the duration formula, safe residual pressure, and worked E-cylinder duration tables for planning transport oxygen supply.
Gas Laws for Patient Transport
A quick reference to the gas laws that govern patient transport — Boyle, Charles, Gay-Lussac, Dalton, Henry, and Graham — each with its statement and transport implication.
Pre-Transport Checklist
A systematic pre-transport checklist for the critically ill patient — airway, breathing, circulation, drugs, equipment, and team — to package and stabilize before departure.
Transport Monitoring Parameters
The minimum monitoring standard for transport and the stability targets to optimize before departure, including the ETCO₂-to-PaCO₂ relationship.
Clinical Skills
Postural Drainage Positions
Postural drainage positions by bronchopulmonary segment, with the head-down contraindications and how long to hold each position.
Bedside Pulmonary Measurements & Weaning Thresholds
Bedside pulmonary measurements and the weaning thresholds for vital capacity, MIP/NIF, MEP, respiratory rate, minute ventilation, and RSBI.
Tracheostomy Tube Types & Sizing
Tracheostomy tube types and sizing — cuffed, uncuffed, fenestrated, and dual-cannula tubes, plus the speaking-valve cuff-deflation safety rule.
ABG Sampling Sites & the Allen Test
Arterial blood gas sampling sites compared and the step-by-step modified Allen test for confirming collateral circulation before a radial puncture.
Medical Gas Cylinders & Regulators
A bedside reference to compressed medical gas hardware — cylinder color codes, service pressures, the cylinder-factor duration calculation, the PISS and DISS safety connection systems, and single- versus multi-stage reducing valves and regulators.
Equipment QC & Calibration
A reference to respiratory equipment quality control and calibration — blood gas analyzer QC with Levey-Jennings charts and the Westgard multi-rules, two-point calibration, oxygen-analyzer calibration at 21 percent and 100 percent, and spirometer, ventilator, and monitor performance verification.
RT Career & Professional Practice
RT Credentials Glossary
A glossary of respiratory therapy credentials — abbreviation, full name, granting board, and focus — from CRT and RRT to the specialty credentials.
Ethical Principles in Respiratory Care
The core ethical principles that guide respiratory care — autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, veracity, fidelity, and confidentiality — defined with bedside examples.
The Do Not Use Abbreviation List
The Joint Commission Do Not Use abbreviation list — the prohibited abbreviations, why they cause errors, and what to write instead.
RT Career Ladder & Advancement
How a respiratory therapy career advances — the clinical ladder from staff to leadership, the specialty and advanced roles, and the credentials or education each step typically requires.