Respiratory Care on Admission (First two hours)
- Patient is incubated and ventilator-dependent.
- Monitor blood gases hourly and take corrective action immediately.
- Hourly endotracheal suction with strict asepsis.
- Asses breath sounds to document the placement of the endotracheal tube and aeration of lungs bilaterally.
- Continuously observe drainage form chest tubes. If the drainage is greater than 70 ml/hr form each individual tube and is wann, bright red and free flowing, haemorrhage is suspected. Do an immediate chest x-ray and view the film to identify and complication.