You are called for an alert patient with respiratory distres…

You are called for an alert patient with respiratory distress. As part of your primary assessment, you place the patient on oxygen via nasal cannula at 2 liters per minute. You continue with the rest of your assessment including taking a set of vital signs. During your reassessment, you notice that the patient’s respiratory rate has increased to 24 times per minute and he is having increasing trouble breathing. You should: