NU 460 Mechanically Ventilated Patient Case Study

NU 460 Mechanically Ventilated Patient Case Study ► P.W., a 33-year-old woman diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), is being cared for on a special ventilator unit of an extended care facility because she requires 24-hour-a-day nursing coverage. She has been intubated and mechanically ventilated for 3 weeks and has shown no signs of improvement in respiratory muscle strength. Her ventilator settings are assist- control (A/C) of 12 breaths/min, tidal volume (V T ) 700 mL, FiO 2 0.50, and positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) 5 cm H 2 O. Her vital signs are 108/64, 118, 12, 100.6° F (38.1° C). She is receiving enteral nutrition by PEG (percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy [with a transjejunal limb]) tube (2800 kcal/24 hr).