For a patient on PC, A/C ventilation showing symptoms of hypocapnia, what should the respiratory therapist recommend?

In the scenario where a patient on pressure control (PC) assist/control (A/C) ventilation displays symptoms of hypocapnia, the most appropriate recommendation is to decrease inspiratory pressure. Hypocapnia, or low carbon dioxide levels in the blood, commonly results from hyperventilation. When patients are hyperventilating, they may be receiving too much mechanical assistance, which can lead to overly high minute ventilation.

Decreasing the inspiratory pressure will help reduce the tidal volume delivered by the ventilator and subsequently lower the minute ventilation. This adjustment allows the patient to take spontaneous breaths that may be less rapid and more in line with a normal respiratory rate, helping to retain CO2 and correct the hypocapnia.

While decreasing the mandatory rate could also potentially help prevent excessive ventilation, it does not directly address the volume delivered with each breath. Changing the I:E ratio generally pertains to altering the duration of inspiration versus expiration, which may not specifically assist in managing hypocapnia without addressing minute ventilation directly. Increasing PEEP primarily affects end-expiratory lung volume and oxygenation rather than CO2 retention and is not applicable in this case for correcting hypocapnia.

Thus, recommending a decrease in inspiratory pressure is the most effective and targeted approach to