Question

Why is fresh gas decoupling important?

A) It prevents wall oxygen from mixing with the anesthesia gases.
B) It allows patients to breathe spontaneously while the ventilator is active.
C) It allows delivered tidal volumes to be independent of gas flow rate through the machine.
D) It allows fresh volatile anesthetics to be separated from those exhaled from the patient.
E) It allows ventilators to deliver positive pressure during both expiration and inspiration.

Answer 1

Fresh gas decoupling is important in anesthesia because it allows delivered tidal volumes to be independent of gas flow rate through the machine and prevents the patient from re-breathing exhaled anesthetics.

Step-by-step explanation:

Fresh gas decoupling is important in anesthesia because it allows delivered tidal volumes to be independent of gas flow rate through the machine. This means that the amount of gas being delivered to the patient can be adjusted without affecting the tidal volume, ensuring that the patient receives the correct amount of anesthesia. Fresh gas decoupling also allows fresh volatile anesthetics to be separated from those exhaled by the patient, preventing the patient from re-breathing the exhaled anesthetics.