The Decision to use PRN Oxygen in a Treatment Session

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In the case study in my course, the patient's respiratory rate was 90 at rest. I was concerned as to what was going to happen with activity. I would start him at a very low level of activity, and I would have him do the breathing exercise, the pursed lip breathing, before.  I would try this first.  I would not automatically put on the supplemental oxygen. Chances are that apprehension or pain are creating the increased respiratory rate, and it is a temporary problem that we can alleviate through ways other than using supplemental oxygen.  If it was a patient who I knew had long-term breathing problems or had had a surgical procedure that might impair the ventilatory process, I might ask the physician before I got started if he wanted the patient to start at a very low level of 2 liters. However, I do not think I would put it on or push it until I really assessed that patient’s tolerance for activity and how well they did with low levels of mobility like some in-bed activites. I like to watch them with bed mobility or with transitions from lying to sitting to standing to see what happens when I use breathing interventions first.