Question

You are called into a room where the anesthesia staff complains that the airway pressure continues to rise in a relaxed patient with regular breath sounds. Which of the following problems with the machine could be causing this?

A) A kink in the scavenging transfer means
B) A faulty positive-pressure release valve in the scavenging system
C) An incompetent pressure relief valve in the ventilator
D) A and B
E) All of the above

Answer 1

A rising airway pressure in a relaxed patient during anesthesia could be caused by a kink in the scavenging transfer means, a faulty positive-pressure release valve in the scavenging system, or an incompetent pressure relief valve in the ventilator, indicating that all of these could be the source of the problem.

Step-by-step explanation:

If the anesthesia staff is experiencing a continuing rise in airway pressure in a relaxed patient with regular breath sounds, several issues with the anesthesia machine could be contributing to this problem. One possible cause is A) A kink in the scavenging transfer means, which could prevent the proper flow of expired gases out of the system, thus increasing the pressure. Another potential issue is B) A faulty positive-pressure release valve in the scavenging system, which is supposed to release excess pressure but if defective, could also lead to increased airway pressure. The last possibility is C) An incompetent pressure relief valve in the ventilator, which if not functioning properly, could lead to an accumulation of pressure within the circuit. Therefore, the correct answer to the problem could be E) All of the above.