The 20-year-old patient with asthma presents to the emergency department with increased work of breathing and severe wheezing after exposure to household dust and mold. The patient used the albuterol inhaler 6 times in the previous 4 hours with minimal relief. Upon inspection, the nurse notes extensive accessory respiratory muscle use with moderate supraclavicular retractions and nasal flaring. The nurse auscultates expiratory wheezing in all lung fields. The patient is afebrile, normotensive, significantly tachypneic, and mildly tachycardic. The nurse anticipates which findings on a chest x-ray?

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Clear lung fields. The patient&rsquo;s symptoms are consistent with an asthma exacerbation, which presents with clear lung fields. A pneumothorax would present with diminished or absent lung sounds on one side. Diffuse interstitial infiltrates and pleural effusions indicate pulmonary edema, which is inconsistent with the patient&rsquo;s symptoms.

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