A patient who is orally intubated and receiving mechanical ventilation is anxious and is "fighting" the ventilator. Which action should the nurse take next?
a. Verbally coach the patient to breathe with the ventilator.
b. Sedate the patient with the ordered PRN lorazepam (Ativan).
c. Manually ventilate the patient with a bag-valve-mask device.
d. Increase the rate for the ordered propofol (Diprivan) infusion.
ANS: A
The initial response by the nurse should be to try to decrease the patient's anxiety by coaching the patient about how to coordinate respirations with the ventilator. The other actions may also be helpful if the verbal coaching is ineffective in reducing the patient's anxiety.
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