Modern Anesthesia Ventilators and the Pediatric Patient

Mechanical ventilation of pediatric patients in the operating room can be challenging. Even small changes in delivered volume can be a significant percentage of the desired volume and lead to unintended hyperor hypoventilation. Due to the unique physiology of children,the consequences of these unintended ventilation changes can be hypoxemia, hypercarbia and/or barotrauma. When using a traditional anesthesia machine, fresh gas flow and circuit compliance both influence the volume delivered to the patient. Despite the sophistication of bedside monitoring technology, adequate ventilation of the pediatric patient continues to include subjective assessment of chest movement by the caregiver. Although clinical assessment is important, it is not very useful for assessing changes in ventilation when the patient is hidden under the surgical drapes. Modern anesthesia ventilators are designed to eliminate many factors which can influence delivered tidal volume that are inherent in traditional anesthesia machines. The following information will review the unique aspects of pediatric ventilation in the operating room, the limitations of traditional anesthesia machine technology and the features of modern anesthesia ventilators that address the limitations of traditional technology.