47 years old female with status asthmatics who got intubated and placed on mechanical ventilation. An inspiratory hold was applied as shown in this snapshot of the ventilator screen:
Notice the limitation of the expiratory flow in the first breath before the inspiratory hold. Also notice that the peak pressure is elevated at 46 cm H2O, the plateau is elevated at 30 cm H2O and the difference is at 16 cm H2O representing the increased airway resistance due to bronchospasm.
What is the most likely explanation of the increased plateau pressure in this asthmatic patient?
0%Pneumonia
0%Pneumothorax
0%AutoPEEP
0%Lung collapse
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What would you do next to confirm your diagnosis?
Here is a screenshot of the ventilator waveforms of the pressure, flow, and volume over time in this patient prior the the inspiratory and expiratory hold.
@Everyone