Gastric distention will MOST likely occur:

• A. when you deliver minimal tidal volume
• B. in patients who are intubated
• C. when the airway is completely obstructed
• D. if you ventilate a patient too quickly

Answer: (B)

Gastric distention happens when air used for ventilation ends up in the stomach rather than the lungs. When a patient is intubated, breaths are delivered under positive pressure through an endotracheal tube. If the airway seal isn’t perfect or pressures are high, air can be forced past the lower esophageal sphincter into the stomach, causing distention. This makes distention a more likely complication in intubated patients during ventilations, compared with scenarios that use small tidal volumes (which supply less air to the stomach), complete airway obstruction (which primarily hampers ventilation rather than reliably causing stomach inflation), or rapid ventilation (which raises pressures but is not as specifically tied to the intubation context).