What complications are associated with using a manually triggered ventilation device?

• A. Lung tissue injury and gastric distention.
• B. Reduced tidal volume delivery and hypoxia.
• C. Inadequate oxygenation and tracheal injury.
• D. Inadequate ventilation and hypercarbia.

Answer: (A)

Manual ventilation with a bag-valve mask delivers positive-pressure breaths, so two common complications to watch for are lung tissue injury from overdistention and gastric distention from air entering the stomach. When pressures are high or breaths are delivered too forcefully, the lungs can stretch excessively, leading to barotrauma such as pneumothorax or alveolar damage. At the same time, air can be pushed into the stomach through the esophagus, causing gastric distention, which raises the risk of vomiting and aspiration and can impair ventilation. While inadequate ventilation or oxygenation and other issues can occur, they are less characteristic of manual ventilation as a primary complication compared with the combination of potential lung injury and gastric distention.