The respiratory therapist enters the room of a patient being mechanically ventilated with volume ventilation. The high pressure alarm is sounding and the measured exhaled tidal volume is signif-icantly lower than what is set
The variable that is ending inspiration is which of the following?
a. Time
b. Flow
c. Pressure
d. Volume
ANS: C
Volume ventilation is cycled by volume. However, to protect the patient's lungs from high pres-sures a maximum high pressure limit is set (usually 10 cm H2O above the average peak inspiratory pressure). Inspiration ends prematurely when the high pressure limit is reached, independent of the set volume. This is the reason why the exhaled tidal volume reading is significantly lower than the set volume. Therefore, the variable ending inspiration in this instance is pressure.
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