MSDeltaFlt
RRT/NRP
- 1,422
- 35
- 48
The way to stop this lady from struggling is to initiate therapy toward alleviating the problems.
If you sedate the drive that is maintaining her oxygenation, you better have a great airway alternative. She will go down fighting even if you do have the ability to RSI. Sedating may or may not alleviate the combativeness but may present with other problems.
CPAP does NOT ventilate. You may end up bagging and still have a lot more of your protocols to run through to maintain stable BP, assess and continue treatment.
Remember these patients aren't fighting YOU. They are fighting a body that is failing them. Just from her COPD, she has very limited oxygenation and ventilation abilities. Any disease process be it CHF or PNA that can cause just a little more hypoxemia with may cause her PaO2 to fall from 55 mmHg where she probably lives to 40 mmHg where her other organs start to feel the effects.
Very true, Vent. Remember, They say she started to really complain ~10 min before you showed up. Time is relative. The amount of time you feel elapsing and the amount of time actually occuring might not necessarily be the same amount.
Therefore, don't be surprised if you can't fix the problem enroute. Most times you can't. But you can get the fixing of the problem started.