PEEP Study Flowsheet Instructions:
Your patient is a 56 year old female brought to your hospital five days ago, pulled by EMS professionals from a total loss house fire. Her spouse and several family pets demised in the fire. She had no significant morbidities prior to the fire.
Her Rule of Nines burn percentage in the ER was determined to be 81% of body surface area. A significant portion of her burns are third degree, and her nasal hair was burned completely off from the heat of the inhaled gases.
She is being maintained today on Volume Control Assist-Control ventilation. The most pressing challenge in her care today is oxygenation. Your assignment from the house staff Pulmonologist is to determine the optimal PEEP level for the patient at this time.
Based upon the physiological measurements provided on the Optimal PEEP Flowsheet, please determine the optimal PEEP level for your patient. Explain why, in your view, this is the optimal PEEP level. Discuss the significance of all key measurements and how they led to your decision.
Having now adjusted PEEP to your optimal level, what will be your next steps in patient assessment and monitoring of response to your adjustment? Your assignment must be 3,750–5,000 words.
