a 45 year old woman is brought to the emergency department 45 minutes after her husband found her unconscious on the floor. She is unresponsive to painful stimuli. Her temperature is 37C, pulse is 115/min, respirations are 6/min and shallow and blood pressure is 110/60 mmHg. Physical examination shows no other abnormalities. Arterial blood gas analysis on room air shows: pH: 7.08, Pco2: 80 mmHg and Po2: 45mmHg which of the following is the cause of her hypoxemia? a) decreased alveolar ventilation b) decrease dead space ventilation c) increased diffusion defect d) increased shunt e) increased ventilation-perfusion mismatch.

1. a 45 year old woman is brought to the emergency department 45 minutes after her husband found
her unconscious on the floor. She is unresponsive to painful stimuli. Her temperature is 37C,
pulse is 115/min, respirations are 6/min and shallow and blood pressure is 110/60 mmHg.
Physical examination shows no other abnormalities. Arterial blood gas analysis on room air
shows:
pH: 7.08, Pco2: 80 mmHg and Po2: 45mmHg
which of the following is the cause of her hypoxemia?
a) decreased alveolar ventilation
b) decrease dead space ventilation
c) increased diffusion defect
d) increased shunt
e) increased ventilation-perfusion mismatch