A 24-year-old skier with a broken femur has been in the postanesthesia care unit for 24 hours and is 12 hours post-extubation with no supplemental oxygen
He is awake, alert, and oriented, and he reports shortness of breath. A capnograph shows de-creased PETCO2. This patient's current status could be caused by which of the following?
a. Respiratory center depression c. Muscular paralysis
b. Pulmonary embo-lism d. Alveolar shunt
ANS: B
Long-bone fractures put a patient at risk for the development of pulmonary emboli. The de-creased PETCO2 is showing that physiologic dead space has increased because of the blockage of pulmonary arterioles.
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