Question

The nurse is caring for a patient after a tracheostomy. The health care provider instructs the nurse to perform suctioning to remove excess fluids. Which nursing intervention would be beneficial for the patient?

1) Ensure that each suctioning does not last longer than a minute.
2) Instill a sterile saline solution into the trachea.
3) Provide oxygen by using the tracheostomy oxygenation mask.
4) Use an Ambu bag to ventilate the patient before suctioning.

Answer 1

Among the nursing interventions for suctioning in a patient with a tracheostomy, providing oxygen using a tracheostomy oxygenation mask is beneficial to maintain stable oxygen levels during the procedure.

Step-by-step explanation:

When caring for a patient after a tracheostomy and when instructed to remove excess fluids via suctioning, the nursing intervention that would be beneficial for the patient is option 3) Provide oxygen using the tracheostomy oxygenation mask. This helps ensure that the patient's oxygen levels remain stable, especially since suctioning can lead to a decrease in oxygenation. Option 1) is incorrect as suctioning should generally be much shorter than a minute, typically only 10-15 seconds, to prevent hypoxia. Option 2), instilling sterile saline may sometimes be used, but it is not a standard practice as it might lead to complications such as dilution of surfactant and infection risk. Option 4), using the Ambu bag before suctioning, is also a beneficial option as it can help pre-oxygenate the patient, thereby ensuring optimal oxygen levels before the potentially oxygen-depleting action of suctioning.