A 59 year old man was admitted to the ICU for a COPD exacerbation. He was intubated earlier in the day. Initially after being intubated his static pressure was 23 cm H2o and peak pressure 47 cm H20. The APRN is notified that currently his peak pressure has risen to 62 cm H20 and the static pressure is 42 cm H20. His heart rate has increased from 88 to 112beats / minute and his blood pressure has decreased from 112/88 to 92/ 72. He has decreased breath soun

A 59 year old man was admitted to the ICU for a COPD exacerbation. He was intubated earlier in the day. Initially after being intubated…

A 59 year old man was admitted to the ICU for a COPD exacerbation. He was intubated earlier in the day. Initially after being intubated his static pressure was 23 cm H2o and peak pressure 47 cm H20. The APRN is notified that currently his peak pressure has risen to 62 cm H20 and the static pressure is 42 cm H20. His heart rate has increased from 88 to 112beats / minute and his blood pressure has decreased from 112/88 to 92/ 72. He has decreased breath sounds on the left side.  Where do you think the problem lies with this particular patient?

A 59 year old man was admitted to the ICU for a COPD exacerbation. He was intubated earlier in the day. Initially after being intubated his static…

Four hours after mechanical ventilation is initiated for a patient with chronic obstructive pulmo-nary disease (COPD), the patient’s arterial blood gas (ABG) results include a pH of 7.50, PaO2 of 80 mm Hg, PaCO2 of 29 mm Hg, and HCO3- of 23 mEq/. What change in ventilator settings would be indicated?

Selected Answer: Evidently, the patient is experiencing acute respiratory alkalosis that is uncompensated for. This is indicated by the low PaCO2 level that is below the…