An alert and distressed 72-year-old male patient with a hist…
An alert and distressed 72-year-old male patient with a history of pulmonary edema from heart failure is in severe respiratory distress, breathing 28 to 32 times per minute. His airway is patent, respirations are labored, crackles are heard in the bases of the lungs, and skin is found to be diaphoretic with a rapid radial pulse. Other vital signs are pulse, 136; blood pressure, 202/110 mmHg; and SpO2, 83%. Cyanosis is evident in the fingertips. The best treatment for this patient’s breathing difficulty would be: