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A patient is admitted to the emergency department with a stab wound to the right chest. Air can be heard entering his chest with each inspiration. To decrease the possibility of a tension pneumothorax in the patient, the nurse should

The nurse is caring for a patient who is being mechanicallly ventilated. What strategies have been shown (Evidence-based practice) to prevent ventilator-accquired pneumonia (VAP)?

A patient’s ventilator settings were changed as follows: tidal volume was decreased from 500 ml to 450 ml and rate was decreased from 16 breaths to 14 breaths per minute. What ABG change would the nurse anticipate?

A nurse is caring for a patient who has a chest tube connected to a closed drainage system and needs to be transported to the x-ray department. How will the nurse ensure the chest tube drainage systems works properly during transport?

The nurse in the intensive care unit receives arterial blood gases (ABG) with a patient who is complaining of being “short of breath.” The ABG has the following values: pH = 7.21, PaCO2 = 64 mm Hg, HCO3 = 24 mm Hg. The labs reflect:

A patient has coronary artery bypass graft surgery and is transported to the surgical intensive care unit at noon and is placed on mechanical ventilation. Interpret the initial arterial blood gas levels pH: 7.31PaCO2: 48 mm Hg(HCO3) Bicarbonate: 22 mEq/LPaO2: 115 mm HgO2 saturation: 99%

A patient is injured in a motor-vehicle crash and is transported to the emergency department. The healthcare provider determines the need for an immediate thoracotomy and chest tube insertion and anticipates the need for maximal suction pressure. The appropriate type of closed-chest drainage system for this patient is a

A client who has been hospitalized for treatment of a pneumothorax is ready for discharge. Which outcomes indicate that the client has adequate respiratory function? Select all that apply.

When the ventilator alarm sounds, the nurse finds the patient lying in bed holding the endotracheal tube (ET). The first intervention by the nurse is to

The pilot balloon on the endotracheal tube of a client being mechanically ventilated is deflated. What is the consequence of this situation?