An Emergency Medical Responder is ventilating a patient whose ETCO2 is 28 mmHg. What should you direct the EMR to do?

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Multiple Choice

An Emergency Medical Responder is ventilating a patient whose ETCO2 is 28 mmHg. What should you direct the EMR to do?

ETCO2 reflects alveolar ventilation, and a reading of 28 mmHg is below normal, indicating you’re blowing off too much CO2 with each breath. In a patient you’re actively ventilating, the best way to bring CO2 back toward normal is to decrease the ventilation rate (or lower the tidal volume). Reducing the rate slows CO2 elimination, allowing levels to rise toward normal. Increasing the rate would push CO2 down even more, and maintaining the current rate would leave the CO2 low. Checking airway patency and chest rise remains important, but the direct corrective action for this low CO2 is to reduce the rate of ventilations.

ETCO2 reflects alveolar ventilation, and a reading of 28 mmHg is below normal, indicating you’re blowing off too much CO2 with each breath. In a patient you’re actively ventilating, the best way to bring CO2 back toward normal is to decrease the ventilation rate (or lower the tidal volume). Reducing the rate slows CO2 elimination, allowing levels to rise toward normal. Increasing the rate would push CO2 down even more, and maintaining the current rate would leave the CO2 low. Checking airway patency and chest rise remains important, but the direct corrective action for this low CO2 is to reduce the rate of ventilations.

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