This paper is going to discuss Boyle’s Law and how it relates to respiratory care. It will define what the law is, how it works, and why it is important to us. We use this law every day without even thinking about it. So many of our everyday activities and actions are related to certain gas laws that have been built into our lives at home and at work. Without many of the gas laws we would not have the advancements that we have today. Boyle’s Law has had a very important role in our lives. It is the reason why we have the medical technology that we have today and why it keeps improving. Because of Boyle’s law, the medical profession saves lives and improves lives every day.
In the 1600’s Robert Boyle from Ireland explained the
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Our bodies do it on their own by moving air into the lungs when a muscle called the diaphragm, along with other nearby muscles, contract and causes the chest cavity to expand. Then air is exhaled when these muscles relax, and the lung tissue returns or recoils to its original size (Jardins 2013) . When the patient needs help with breathing due to a disease, surgery or the use of medications which stop the muscle from working on their own, a ventilator is a life-saving replacement. The volume of oxygen in the cylinder is depressed down and the pressure increases moving the oxygen through the tubes into the patient.
The plethysmography technique applies to Boyle’s law and uses measurements of volume and pressure changes to determine lung volume, assuming the temperature is constant. The plethysmography technique measures the volume of all compressible gas in the thorax, including gas trapped behind airway obstructions or in the pleural space (Kacmarek 2013). This is just another example of how important Boyle’s law has become to the medical profession.
As this report states, Boyle’s law is very important in our everyday lives and in the medical profession. The advancements in respiratory care in modern day medicine have been greatly enhanced with the application of Boyle’s law which was developed over 400 years ago by Robert Boyle a native of Ireland. As a respiratory therapist we work with Boyle’s law every day to help patients
On the early morning of August 17, 2002, James C., a patient in one of the wards under the supervision of Ellen Hughes Finnerty, RN, went into respiratory depression. Between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m., Ann Mugi, the patient’s primary nurse, sought the assistance of a respiratory therapist, Hiran Obeyesekere, to help her care for the patient. As Obeyesekere suctioned the patient airway, Mugi called the service of the patient’s primary care physician, Dr. Jackson, to report the changes in the patient’s respiratory status, e.g., respiratory rate of 40 breaths per minute and low urine output.
It was difficult to measure ventilation rate, as the mL of water measured in the tube was not directly proportionate to
This study focuses on methods to confirm proper tube placement. Through a cross sectional study, the research concluded that over seventy eight percent of critical care health workers use multiple methods to confirm tube placement. Some of the more common methods include looking at the gastric aspirate’s pH, observing the patient for signs or respiratory distress, and capnography. Auscultation of the air bolus was not included in the study because it was deemed “unreliable”. However, a small separate study was done and about eighty eight percent of critical care health workers claimed they also used an air bolus auscultation as a method of confirming placement. So, what is the reasoning for health care workers to continue doing this if it is unreliable? It has been hypothesized that this method requires the least amount of supplies and the nurses can do it quickly and easily. This research study along with many others concludes that air bolus auscultation is not an accurate method because the sounds nurses are used to hearing that “confirm” proper tube placement in the gastrointestinal tract are the same as sounds heard in the lungs and other areas of the
Both rapid, shallow breathing patterns and hypoventilation effect gas exchange. Arterial blood gases will be monitored and changes discussed with provider. Alteration in PaCO2 and PaO2 levels are signs of respiratory failure. Patient’s body position will be properly aligned for optimum respiratory excursion, this promotes lung expansion and improved air exchange. Patient will be suctioned as needed to clear secretions and maintain patent airways. The expected outcome is that the patient’s airway and gas exchange will be maintained as evidence by normal arterial blood gases (Herdman,
Tight, prickly, acidic-like air sliding down your throat, burning your lungs with every ounce of air taken in. Walking into the hospital today, with a killer cough, you would undergo a chest CT and an eco; if your condition was paralis. Joel D. Howell specified that, “In the 1900’s, going to the doctor with a severe cough, the proxy would be a cough drop or a hot shower. Medical technology has enhanced since the 1900’s, but we wouldn't be anywhere without the medical advances in the 1920’s”. In the 1920’s, medical technology was heavily affected by the end of the WW1, the Fleming fail, prohibition and cigarettes.
3. Research is under way in a few institutions to image the ventilation dynamics of the lungs through the use of hyperpolarized helium-3 gas.
Once the limits have been reached, there is very little or no change that will occur in the response to any pressure change. This is figured out by using the equation of change in pressure and the change in volume. (Jardins, 2013) By using this equation it will help figure out how compliant the lungs are. This is critical in figuring lung dysfunctions and developing care for a patient. One of the major diseases that lowers the elastance of the lung and the most preventable is Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD is categorized with an increase of airway resistance and the loss of lung elasticity. As a restriction in airflow develops, it leads to the hyperinflation of the alveoli. Some other diseases that are caused by low elastic conditions and is related to Hooke’s law are traumatic chest injuries, pneumonia, pneumothorax, pleural effusion, acute respiratory distress syndrome, pulmonary edema, and interstitial lung disease. All of the disease and/or illness’s cause the pressure-volume curve to slide to the right very quickly and allows the lung elastic properties to decrease significantly. (Jardins, 2013)
The bronchial tubes increase in length and diameter during inhalation. Bronchial tubes decrease in length and diameter during exhalation. Poiseuille’s law can be applied to the lungs when the bronchial tubes become constricted due to an increase in mucus production and can decrease in size. When the bronchial tubes decrease in size and the patient is breathing, it is going to take more pressure to move the air into the swelled bronchi. If the radius of a patient’s bronchial tubes increased by sixteen percent, the pressure to move oxygen into the lungs would double. Therefore, a patient with bronchial smooth muscle constriction of sixteen percent would have to double their driving pressure to keep a constant flow rate. If swelling occurs and the patient does not increase their pressure, the amount of oxygen they are getting to their lungs will decrease. Respiratory therapists can see this taking place in patients with asthma that have excess mucus secretions.
A range of emotional factors including fear, stress, anxiety, and pain can affect a person’s ability to breathe correctly and efficiently. The healthcare environment involves a considerable amount of stress and anxiety. Patients often demonstrate fear for their own well- being or
Ventilation and warmth is the first idea introduced in Florence Nightingale’s novel, Notes on Nursing. “To keep the air he breathes as pure as the external air, without chilling him.” (Nightingale, 2005, p. 9). She indicates the importance of keeping the air clean and fresh, comparable to the external air, without providing discomfort to
Even though the consequence of saline instillation on a ventilator patient in the acute care setting is pneumonia or the patient may become hemodynamically unstable, this practice remain contentious, the practice of this procedure will also decrease the oxygenation. (Ayhan, et al., 2015),
Respiratory therapists have one of the most exciting and gratifying careers within the medical field. Unfortunately as with any other job or career, it doesn’t come without having challenging times. Respiratory therapists work along-side physicians and are highly trained to treat patients with any sort of lung concern or breathing complications. This job requires hands on care, and deals with life and death daily. One specific scope of this field involves caring for patients (of all ages) attached to mechanical ventilation. It is the respiratory therapists’ responsibility to remove assistive ventilation to patients with written order from the doctor; which ultimately results in death of the patient (Keene, Samples, Masini, Byington).
Respiratory therapy refers to both a subject area within clinical medicine and to a distinct health care profession. During the 20th century, there were many health care fundamental transformations. Here are 10 possible predictions of what may occur in the future of respiratory care: (1) Less focus on raising PaO2 as a primary goal in managing patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. (2) More attention to
The main organs of the respiratory system are the lungs – they are the location where the gas exchange between oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place. The lungs therefore expand when you breathe in, and retract when you breathe out. This is done through the diaphragm – a sheet of muscle that is positioned under the lungs. As one inhales, their diaphragm contracts and moves itself downward, increasing the space for your lungs to expand to. The ribs also move to enlarge the possible area the lungs can expand to. This pressure causes air to be sucked through the body to the lungs. When one exhales, the opposite takes place – the diaphragm moves upwards and returns to normal, allowing the process to happen again.
As we breathe in, the muscles in the chest wall force the thoracic area, ribs and connective muscles to contract and expand the chest. The diaphragm is contracted and moves down as the area inside the chest increases as air enters the lungs. The lungs are forced open by this expansion and the pressure inside the lungs becomes enough that it pulls