What is the Alveolar Ventilation Rate (AVR) for a patient breathing 30 times a minute with a tidal volume of 350 ml?

The Alveolar Ventilation Rate (AVR) is a measure of the amount of fresh air that reaches the alveoli, where gas exchange occurs, per minute. It can be calculated using the formula:

AVR = (Tidal Volume - Dead Space) × Respiratory Rate.

In the absence of dead space information, a common simplification is to assume the entire tidal volume is effective for gas exchange. Given the patient's breathing rate of 30 breaths per minute and a tidal volume of 350 ml, the total ventilation (minute ventilation) would be:

Minute Ventilation = Tidal Volume × Respiratory Rate

Minute Ventilation = 350 ml/breath × 30 breaths/min = 10,500 ml/min.

Therefore, if we consider the tide volume effective and not subtract any dead space for simplification, the AVR is also 10,500 ml/min. This aligns with the correct answer, confirming that 10,500 ml/min represents the volume of air reaching the alveoli per minute under the given assumptions.