A 41-year-old female with shortness of breath and fatigue has a history of Hodgkin's lymphoma and asthma. Lungs are clear on exam. Which action is appropriate?

• A. Encourage her to cough
• B. Administer oxygen
• C. Assist with the administration of her inhaler
• D. Assess her blood glucose level

Answer: (B)

When someone has shortness of breath and fatigue, the priority is to ensure tissues are receiving enough oxygen. A clear lung exam does not rule out hypoxemia—many conditions can cause dyspnea with normal or unremarkable auscultation. Providing supplemental oxygen helps increase arterial oxygen saturation and reduces the work of breathing, addressing a potential life-threatening issue right away while you continue assessment and monitoring.

Encouraging a cough targets airway clearance but doesn’t directly improve oxygenation or address hypoxemia. Assisting with an inhaler would be useful if there were clear signs of bronchospasm or a known asthma flare, but the scenario doesn’t establish that. Checking blood glucose isn’t an immediate priority in isolated dyspnea unless there are signs pointing to hypoglycemia or altered mental status.

So, giving oxygen now is the safest, most universally beneficial step to support ventilation and oxygen delivery in this presentation.