What type of patients typically need monitoring for CO2 retention when receiving oxygen?

Patients with emphysema and COPD are at a significantly increased risk for CO2 retention when receiving supplemental oxygen therapy. This is primarily because these conditions often lead to hypoventilation—reduced ability to exhale carbon dioxide—due to airway obstruction and diminished lung function.

When providing oxygen to patients with these respiratory issues, there is a potential for diminishing their hypoxic drive, which can lead to an increase in carbon dioxide levels in the bloodstream. As a result, careful monitoring of their CO2 retention is crucial to ensure that oxygen therapy does not lead to respiratory acidosis or other complications.

In contrast, while patients with asthma may also experience challenges with gas exchange, their situation typically involves bronchospasm rather than chronic CO2 retention as seen in emphysema and COPD. Patients undergoing surgery may need monitoring depending on various factors, but they do not inherently have a chronic risk of CO2 retention like those with emphysema and COPD. Lastly, pneumonia affects gas exchange and can lead to respiratory distress, but it does not specifically predispose a patient to CO2 retention in the same chronic manner as emphysema and COPD.