Two questions here:
1. What is the risk of having too high a tidal volume? A patient
with too high a tidal volume will blow off too much carbon dioxide,
increase the body pH, and put the patient into a respiratory
alkylosis. However, if the patient is awake, the patient will attempt
to maintain a constant minute ventilation and compensate for the high
tidal volume by decreasing the number of breaths (or ventilations).
This is simply based on the fact that minute ventilation is equal to
tidal volume * ventilations. Again, if the minute ventilation
increases (as would be the case with an increased tidal volume), you
get a decrease in carbon dioxide, a rise in pH and a subsequent
respiratory alkylosis.
2. What is the risk of having too low of a tidal volume? Again, by
decreasing the tidal volume, you will also decrease the minute
ventilation (as long as the patient is unable to compensate by
increasing his respiratory rate) and the patient will retain carbon
dioxide. Retained carbon dioxide produces a decrease in body pH and
results in a respiratory acidosis.
Hope someone can verify my work, and claim the prize.
-d
The answer depends if the patient is on increasing the tidal volume on
his own, or if the patient is attached to a ventilator. If the
patient is att |
