Which action should you take for an adult patient in respiratory distress who is not breathing adequately but is not pulseless?

• A. Administer saline IV
• B. Call for help
• C. Check blood pressure
• D. Provide ventilations with a bag-valve mask

Answer: (D)

When someone is in respiratory distress and not breathing adequately but still has a pulse, the priority is to support ventilation to ensure oxygen reaches the body. Providing ventilations with a bag-valve mask delivers controlled breaths to the lungs, improving alveolar oxygenation and helping remove carbon dioxide. This directly addresses the cause of the problem—insufficient breathing—without waiting for a full cardiac assessment or unrelated steps.

Giving IV saline wouldn’t fix the breathing issue and could introduce unnecessary risks. Checking blood pressure is part of assessing the patient, but it doesn’t address the immediate need to improve ventilation. While it's important to call for help as needed, the most critical action in this scenario is to provide assisted ventilations with a bag-valve mask to restore adequate breathing.