Cheyne stokes and agonal

Nurses General Nursing

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Just want to know exactly what cheyne stokes and agonal breathing are? There is no video that does it justice

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Specializes in NICU.

Cheyne Stokes looks like football or diamond on a monitor. You have an apnea followed by a small breath followed by breathes a little deeper than the previous until a normal breath, then reverses the other direction to an apnea.

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Are you talking on the monitor or how the patient looks? On the patient it looks like they are gasping for air. I came on shift one time and my patient needed intubated and was Cheyenne Stokes breathing. He was just worn out from hours of trying to breathe on his own. He was just gasping for air. He had underlying conditions and wouldn't wear the masks he needed to and just plain wore out.

Not wearing the masks got him a tube. Not fun for anyone.

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