ABSTRACT
MECHANICAL VENTILATION ■ The initiation of intubation and mechanical ventilation is an
attempt to accomplish one, or all, of the following: ▲ Protect the airway or overcome airway obstruction ▲ Support or maintain pulmonary gas exchange ▲ Increase lung volume ▲ Reduce the work of breathing
Indications ■ Acute respiratory failure
▲ Respiratory activity is insufficient to maintain adequate oxygenation or ventilation (carbon dioxide clearance)
▲ Develops over a short period ▲ Hypercapneic (hypercarbic) respiratory failure-a reflec-
tion of inadequate ventilation, e.g., alveolar hypoventilation • When acute, a rapid rise in PaCO2, with an accompa-
nying drop in arterial pH (assuming no metabolic component), is observed.
