The nurse is preparing to administer oxygen to a client with a diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and is at risk for carbon dioxide narcosis. The nurse should check to see that the oxygen flow rate is prescribed at which rate?

In carbon dioxide narcosis, the central chemoreceptors lose their sensitivity to increased levels of carbon dioxide and no longer respond by increasing the rate and depth of respiration. For these clients, the stimulus to breathe is a decreased arterial oxygen concentration. In the client with COPD, a low arterial oxygen level is the client's primary drive for breathing. If high levels of oxygen are administered, the client may lose the respiratory drive, and respiratory failure results. Thus, the nurse checks the flow of oxygen to see that it does not exceed 2 to 3 liters per minute, unless a specific health care provider prescription indicates a different flow of the oxygen.