a 42 year old woman who is obese and has a long history of smoking recently underwent upper abdominal  surgery. She was extubated last evening and several hours later is observed lying supine with shallow, rapid respirations. There are decreased breath sounds at both bases and the patient is complaining of severe pain with movement..Which of the following should a respiratory therapist suggest at this time?I.Arterial blood gas analysisII. Chest radiographIII. Acid-fast bacillus culture of sputum specimenIV.Electrolyte determinations

A patient with chronic hypercapnea was extubated 2 days ago. He is now recieving a trial of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation with the following settings:IPAP           18 cm H2OEPAP          10 cm H2OThe respiratory therapist notes that EPAP consistently falls below 10 cm H2O. Which of the following could contribute to this situation?I. Inspiratory flow is too highII. The head straps are too looseIII. The mask is too largeIV. A nasogastric tube is present

A respiratory therapist is reviewing a patient’s ventilator flow sheet. While the patient’s ventilatory parameteres have not changed, the therapist observes the following PETCO2 values recorded over a period of six hours.1400   32 torr1600   34 torr1800   40 torr2000   42 torrWhich of the following should the therapist conclude?

Inhaled gas for a patient who has a tracheostomy should:

If the inspiratory flow setting was increased during volume-controlled ventilation, the respiratory therapist should expect which of the following to decrease?

After assisting a physician with insertion of a larygeal mask airway (LMA), the respiratory therapist notices a decreased tidal volume. Which of the following should the therapist recommend?

While evaluating a patient’s thorax, the respiratory therapist observes unilateral chest rise of the left chest, which is most consistent with:

The following data were recorded from a pulmonary artery catheter: Central venous pressure  10 mmHg Pulmonary arterial pressure      40/15 mmHgPulmonary wedge pressure       20 mmHgCardiac Index                              1.5 L/min/m2These data most likely represent:

While observing the volume time waveform on a ventilator, the descending limb of the graphic fails to return to baseline as shown below:To correct the problem illustrated by this pattern, the respiratory therapist should:

Spontaneous breathing trial was initiated. Which of the following parameters would lead to continuation of weaning?   I. Spontaneous VT of > 5 ml/Kg II. VE at 15 L/min III. NIF -35 cm H2O IV. Respiratory rate 32 breaths/min