A Patient with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)has Developed a Pneumothorax

Multiple Choice

A patient with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) has developed a pneumothorax from elevating peak and plateau pressures.The patient is currently being ventilated in the volume-controlled continuous mandatory ventilation (VC-CMV) mode with a set rate of 12 breaths/min.However,the patient is triggering the ventilator at a rate of 25 breaths/min.The arterial blood gas reveals ventilator-induced hyperventilation with corrected hypoxemia.The most appropriate recommendation to manage this patient on the ventilator is which of the following?

A) Sedate the patient.
B) Decrease the set ventilator rate.
C) Switch the mode to pressure-controlled intermittent mandatory ventilation (PC-IMV) .
D) Switch the mode to pressure-controlled continuous mandatory ventilation (PC-CMV) .