[Monitoring patients on mechanical ventilation]

The clinical situation of a patient with acute respiratory failure, indicates the level of care and mechanical ventilatory support required. The aims of mechanical ventilation are to correct hypoventilation, improve oxygenation and oxygen transport and reduce the work of breathing. Nursing care of patients under mechanical ventilation varies according to their state and the ventilation mode. When establishing a care plan, nurses identify the objectives, which will be useful to measure the interventions. These interventions include aspects related to monitoring and indicate whether or not the objectives are met. In this article the items that allow monitoring of a patient under mechanical ventilation grouped into general monitoring and respiratory monitoring are reviewed.