A ventilator is sounding alarms for low temperature and low volume. What is the likely cause?

When a ventilator sounds alarms for low temperature and low volume, a disconnected temperature probe in the ventilator circuit is a plausible cause. The temperature probe is responsible for monitoring and maintaining the appropriate temperature of the inspired gases. If this probe becomes disconnected, the ventilator may interpret the absence of temperature data as an indication that the temperature is too low. This malfunction could also lead to inadequate heating of the gas delivered to the patient, contributing to the low volume alarm if it affects the overall efficiency of gas delivery and humidification.

In this scenario, while other factors like a ruptured ET tube cuff, a disconnect in the patient-ventilator interface, or a depleted humidification reservoir could have implications for ventilator function, they wouldn't specifically trigger a low temperature alarm. The ruptured cuff and patient-ventilator disconnect would generally lead to alarm patterns focused on airway pressures or volumes, while a depleted humidification reservoir might not directly trigger an alarm for low temperature unless it sufficiently impacts the system’s function. Thus, the most relevant answer related specifically to both the low temperature and low volume alarms is the disconnected temperature probe.