Ace the EMT Challenge 2026 – Elevate Your Emergency Skills!

Crackles are the correct choice in this context as they are often associated with pneumonia. When a patient has pneumonia, the alveoli in the lungs may fill with fluid or pus, leading to the characteristic sounds of crackling when air passes through these fluid-filled areas. This can be heard during auscultation and is a key indication of the condition.

While rhonchi, wheezing, and stridor are also types of abnormal lung sounds, they are typically associated with other respiratory conditions. For example, rhonchi are more commonly linked to secretions in the larger airways, which can occur in situations such as bronchitis. Wheezing is often related to airway constriction, as seen in asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Stridor is a high-pitched sound that usually indicates an upper airway obstruction, which is not typical in pneumonia. Thus, crackles are distinctly indicative of the fluid dynamics involved in pneumonia.