Question

You are preparing an educational inservice about endotracheal suctioning using an open suctioning system. Which of the following concepts should you plan to include?

a) The patient should be suctioned until pulmonary secretions have been cleared.
b) The suction catheter should be inserted to a predetermined length—no more than 1 cm past the end of the endotracheal tube.
c) If the patient's endotracheal tube has been in place for longer than 7 days, the suction catheter can be reused but it needs to be replaced every 24 hours.
d) Before suctioning, the wall suction unit should be adjusted to deliver 130 to 150 mm Hg of negative pressure.

Answer 1

In an educational inservice about endotracheal suctioning using an open suctioning system, important concepts to include are: suctioning until pulmonary secretions are cleared, inserting the suction catheter to a predetermined length, replacing the suction catheter every 24 hours for long-term intubation, and adjusting the wall suction unit for negative pressure.

Step-by-step explanation:

When preparing an educational inservice about endotracheal suctioning using an open suctioning system, it is important to include the following concepts:

1. The patient should be suctioned until pulmonary secretions have been cleared to ensure effective suctioning.
2. The suction catheter should be inserted to a predetermined length—no more than 1 cm past the end of the endotracheal tube to avoid causing injury to the patient.
3. If the patient's endotracheal tube has been in place for longer than 7 days, the suction catheter should be replaced every 24 hours to minimize the risk of infection.
4. Prior to suctioning, the wall suction unit should be adjusted to deliver 130 to 150 mm Hg of negative pressure to ensure adequate suctioning.