Question

A 65-year-old man with chronic obstructive lung disease has been using low-flow oxygen therapy because of difficulty in maintaining adequate oxygenation of his blood. He has recently had a severe respiratory tract infection and has had difficulty breathing. He is admitted to the emergency department because he became increasingly lethargic, and his wife has had trouble arousing him. His respirations are 12 breaths/minute. She relates that he had “turned his oxygen way up” because of difficulty breathing

Answer 1

Supplemental oxygen (supplemental O2) eliminates the hypoxic (low oxygen) respiratory drive in COPD patients, resulting in hypoventilation, greater carbon dioxide levels, apnea (pauses in breathing), and finally respiratory failure.

What is hypoventilation?

The term “hypoventilation” refers to breathing that is either too shallow or too slowly for the body's needs. Acid builds up, and there is insufficient oxygen in the blood as a result of this.

Hypoventilation is the term for excessively shallow or sluggish breathing. Low quantities of oxygen and high levels of carbon dioxide are the results in the blood.

Emphysema, cystic fibrosis, or bronchitis are a few lung conditions that can clog the lower airways and result in hypoventilation.

Therefore, chronic obstructive lung disease has been using low-flow oxygen therapy.

Learn more about hypoventilation here:

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