Question

A 34-year-old woman is admitted to the intensive care unit for management of respiratory distress. She is on a ventilator adjusted for an inspiratory tidal volume of 1 L at a frequency of 10 breaths in each minute. Her anatomic dead space is 200 mL and the ventilator’s dead space is 50 mL. 1.

List the values for the:
- Tidal volume
- Total dead space
2. Calculate the patient's alveolar ventilation?

Answer 1

The tidal volume is 1 L and the total dead space is 250 mL. The patient's alveolar ventilation is 750 mL.

Step-by-step explanation:

The values for the tidal volume and total dead space can be calculated as follows:

1. Tidal volume: The tidal volume is the amount of air that enters the lungs during quiet breathing. In this case, the tidal volume is given as 1 L.
2. Total dead space: The total dead space is the sum of the anatomic dead space and the ventilator's dead space. In this case, the anatomic dead space is 200 mL and the ventilator's dead space is 50 mL, so the total dead space is 250 mL.

To calculate the patient's alveolar ventilation, we first need to subtract the total dead space from the tidal volume. So, the alveolar ventilation would be 1 L - 250 mL = 750 mL.