A Patient Is Admitted to the Cardiac Surgical Intensive Care

A patient is admitted to the cardiac surgical intensive care unit after cardiac surgery with the following arterial blood gas (ABG) levels.What action by the nurse is best? pH: 7.4
PaCO₂: 40 mm Hg
Bicarbonate: 24 mEq/L
PaO₂: 95 mm Hg
O₂ saturation: 97%
Respirations: 20 breaths/min

A) Call the provider to request rapid intubation.
B) Document the findings and continue to monitor.
C) Request that another set of ABGs be drawn and run.
D) Correlate the patient's O₂ saturation with the ABGs.

Correct Answer:

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