Your patient is on long-term mechanical ventilation and becomes very frustrated when he tries to communicate. What intervention should you perform to assist the patient?

Question

A) Assure the patient that everything will be all right and that he should not become upset.
B) Ask a family member to interpret what the patient is trying to communicate.
C) Ask the physician to wean the patient off the mechanical ventilator to allow the patient to talk.
D) Ask the patient to write, use a picture board, or spell words with an alphabet board.

Answer 1

Ans: D
Feedback: If the patient uses an alternative method of communication, he will feel in better control and be less frustrated. Assuring the patient that everything will be all right offers false reassurance, and telling him not to be upset minimizes his feelings. Neither of these methods helps the patient to communicate. In a patient with an endotracheal or tracheostomy tube, the family members are also likely to encounter difficulty interpreting the patient's wishes. Making them responsible for interpreting the patient's gestures may frustrate the family. The patient may be weaned off a mechanical ventilator only when the physiologic parameters for weaning have been met.