BACKGROUND When supplemental oxygen is added to noninvasive ventilation using a non-ICU ventilator, it is usually introduced with a preset flow into the circuit near the ventilator; however, the impact of different CO2 exhalation systems and leaks on the actual FIO2 and gas exchange has not been elucidated. METHODS In a randomized, open-label, 4-treatment (2-by-2), 4-period crossover design, ...

Gravity ventilators rely simply on air buoyancy to extract air and are widely used to exhaust air contaminants and heat from workplaces using minimal energy. They are designed to maximize the exhaust flow rate, but the rain penetration sometimes causes malfunctioning. In this study, the characteristics of rain penetration through a ventilator were examined as a preliminary study to develop a ve...

-A Web application of a ventilator simulation system was developed for the students of clinical engineering and health care professionals. The system runs on Internet Explorer (5.5 or higher) and was developed using HTML, VBScript and Active X control (tklsim.ocx 70kB). The system was composed of a ventilator module and a respiratory model module. The ventilator module makes various waveforms o...

Pressurized metered-dose inhalers (pMDIs) and nebulizers are routinely employed for aerosol delivery in mechanically ventilated patients. A significant proportion of the aerosol deposits in the ventilator circuit and artificial airway, thereby reducing the inhaled drug mass. Factors influencing aerosol delivery during mechanical ventilation differ from those in spontaneously breathing patients....

critical points regarding these scales. First, the CPOT and the BPS do not have a specific item for patients who are in a coma (Glasgow Coma Scale ≤8), with artificial airways (eg, tracheostomy tube), who are breathing spontaneously without receiving mechanical ventilation. Other important concerns are items that evaluate patients’ compliance with ventilators. When patients cough we expect to h...

The ventilator discontinuation process is a critical component of ICU care. Ongoing ventilator dependency is caused by both disease factors (eg, respiratory, cardiac, metabolic, and neuromuscular) and clinician management factors (eg, failing to recognize discontinuation potential and inappropriate ventilator settings/management). A multispecialty evidence-based task force has recommended a ser...

The ventilator discontinuation process is an essential component of overall ventilator management. Undue delay leads to excess stay, iatrogenic lung injury, unnecessary sedation, and even higher mortality. On the other hand, premature withdrawal can lead to muscle fatigue, dangerous gas exchange impairment, loss of airway protection, and also a higher mortality. Continued ventilator dependence ...

There is a limited choice of paediatric ventilators and most of these are specially designed for neonates and infants and are inadequate for ventilating older children. Most adult ventilators are unsuitable for infants and small children mainly because they are unable to provide the smaller tidal volumes and inspiratory flow rates which are required. Modifications of adult ventilators to make t...