The nurse is caring for a patient on a mechanical ventilator due to respiratory failure. The ventilator is set at a FiO2 of 80% with orders to titrate down as tolerated. The nurse understands that the FiO2 goal is to be less than which percent to decrease the risk of complications?

50%

Explanation

•Prolonged FiO2 of 50% or greater can lead to oxygen toxicity and atelectasis, thus the goal is to titrate the FiO2 to less than 50%.

•Ideally, the FiO2 should be titrated down to 21%, or room air, but risks for complications decrease greatly at an FiO2 of less than 50%.

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