Control values are running outside the acceptable range of a…

Control values are running outside the acceptable range of a stable analyzer for the last 5 days.  The scientist in charge has troubleshooted possible causes and has discovered that the pipette used in the reconstitution of the controls needs calibration.  This represents an error in which phase of laboratory analysis?

An 18-year-old, 5’6″, 125 lb female patient was admitted to…

An 18-year-old, 5’6″, 125 lb female patient was admitted to the hospital 2 days ago for spinal meningitis. She developed sepsis and suffered hypercapnic respiratory failure. The patient was intubated and placed on volume-controlled continuous mandatory ventilation (VC-CMV), respiratory frequency (f) 12 breaths/min, tidal volume (VT) 500 mL, positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) 5 cm H2O, fractional inspired oxygen (FIO2) 0.40. Twenty-four hours later, the patient’s oxygen requirements had dramatically increased and her lung compliance had dramatically dropped, while her chest X-ray showed the development of bilateral fluffy infiltrates. The most appropriate actions to take include which of the following?