NBCSN Nationally Certified School Nurse Practice Exam 2025 - Free School Nurse Certification Practice Questions and Study Guide

The condition indicated by air in the pleural cavity due to a puncture of the lung or chest wall is pneumothorax. This occurs when air leaks into the space between the lung and the chest wall, which can happen due to trauma, injury, or certain medical conditions.

When air enters this pleural cavity, it can cause the lung to collapse, leading to symptoms such as sudden chest pain, shortness of breath, and an increased respiratory rate. The presence of air in this space can be detected through chest imaging and requires prompt medical evaluation to determine the appropriate treatment, which may include observation, a needle decompression, or a chest tube placement, depending on the severity of the condition.

In contrast, hemothorax involves blood in the pleural cavity, while emphysema is a chronic lung condition characterized by damaged air sacs in the lungs, and pneumonia is an infection that inflames the air sacs, which may fill with fluid or pus but does not specifically involve air in the pleural space. This distinction clarifies why pneumothorax is the correct answer, as it specifically addresses the presence of air in the pleural cavity due to an injury.