Medical OET · Test 04

Test 04 - Part B - Extract 6

I haven't treated anyone with COPD before. What would we need to do differently?

Level: B2 · 13 sentences

Transcript

  1. I haven't treated anyone with COPD before.
  2. What would we need to do differently?
  3. One of the most important things would be to make sure to prescribe oxygen at levels between 88% to 92%.
  4. Okay, so why would that be necessary?
  5. If he's having trouble breathing, shouldn't we prescribe higher oxygen levels?
  6. Most patients receive oxygen at levels between 94% and 98%.
  7. Well, in healthy individuals, a rise in carbon dioxide would result in an increased drive to breathe in order to eliminate the excess gas.
  8. Right.
  9. However, in some patients with COPD, this response is blunted,
  10. and their main mechanism for respiratory drive is controlled by the level of oxygen in the body instead.
  11. If the level of oxygen given to a COPD patient is increased too much,
  12. it can actually reduce the stimulus to breathe and cause hypoventilation,
  13. resulting in an increase in CO2.