Which term describes irregular respirations with gasping that may precede death?

• A. Cheyne-Stokes
• B. Agonal respirations
• C. Kussmaul respirations
• D. Biot respirations

Answer: (B)

Recognizing agonal respirations: these are irregular, gasping breaths that often occur as life ends. They can be sporadic and labored, sometimes sounding like brief, shallow gasps, and may be followed by periods of no breathing. This pattern signals severe physiologic distress near death, such as during cardiac arrest. It differs from Cheyne-Stokes, which shows a regular cycle of waxing and waning breathing with pauses; Kussmaul breathing is a steady, deep, rapid pattern typical of metabolic acidosis; Biot respirations are irregular in depth with unpredictable periods of apnea. The essential idea is that agonal respirations are the gasping, irregular breaths indicating imminent decline rather than a normal or restorative breathing pattern.