Which of the following is a risk associated with high-pressure alarms in ventilated patients?

In a ventilated patient, high-pressure alarms are typically indicative of resistance within the ventilatory circuit or patient airway issues, where the ventilator struggles to deliver the prescribed tidal volume or pressure. When a high-pressure alarm is triggered, it can lead to inadequate ventilation, which directly increases the risk of hypoxia for the patient. This is because the patient may not be receiving sufficient oxygen delivery due to the obstruction or resistance detected by the ventilator, preventing effective gas exchange in the lungs.

Moreover, while each of the other risks mentioned can be valid concerns in mechanical ventilation scenarios, they do not specifically address the immediate consequences of high-pressure alarms. For instance, pneumothorax occurs due to lung overinflation or trauma, increased work of breathing is more related to the patient's respiratory effort rather than directly caused by a high-pressure alarm, and disconnection from the ventilator is a separate issue that may not correlate with high-pressure conditions. Hence, the risk of hypoxia stands out as the most relevant consequence of high-pressure alarms in patients who are receiving mechanical ventilation.