Scenario/Summary
Adam and his family decided to take a trip to the mountains for the weekend in late February. They had a small cabin and looked forward to a weekend away from the big city. The family had a wonderful time together on Saturday morning hiking in the woods and enjoying nature. However, Saturday afternoon a storm rolled in bringing snow and subfreezing temperatures.
Since the heater in the cabin wasn’t working well, Adam’s mother and sister decided to drive into the nearest town to spend the night. Adam and his father, not being sissies, stayed at the cabin where they started a gas heater to keep them warm.
The next morning Adam’s mother and sister returned to find both Adam and his father unconscious. An ambulance was called and they were both transported to the nearest hospital. Adam had arterial blood gases drawn with the following results:
- pH 7.2
- PaCO2 31.4,
- PaO2 40.7 mmHg
His oxygen saturation was 72%. Adam was diagnosed with carbon monoxide poisoning.
Deliverables
Answer the following questions and save your responses in a Microsoft Word document. Provide a scholarly resource to support your answers.
- With respect to hemoglobin loading, please explain the relationship between binding of oxygen (O2) and carbon monoxide (CO) to the hemoglobin molecules.
- During the ambulance ride, a pulse oximeter showed 100% O2 saturation. Why is that different from the 72% measured at the hospital?
- One course of treatment is a hyperbaric oxygen treatment. How does a hyperbaric chamber work?
- Adams blood work shows him to be in an acidosis (normal blood pH is 7.35-7.45). Explain how this will shift the hemoglobin dissociation curve and why.
