An alert patient receiving ventilatory support through a demand flow intermittent mandatory ventilation system exhibits clinical signs of an increased work of breathing whenever you try to decrease the mandatory rate below 6/min. In order to aid in weaning this patient, which of the following would you recommend? A) Apply a low level of pressure support. B) Apply a high level of inspiratory pressure. C) Increase the mandatory V_T. D) Decrease the mandatory V_T.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

With intermittent mandatory ventilation, the addition of pressure support can overcome the work of breathing imposed during "spontaneous" breaths because of the presence of endotracheal and tracheostomy tubes, demand-flow systems, and ventilator circuits.

An Alert Patient Receiving Ventilatory Support Through a Demand Flow