No abstract

Setting expiratory trigger at a higher percentage of peak inspiratory flow in patients with obstructive disease during pressure support improves patient-ventilator synchrony and reduces inspiratory muscle effort. Further studies should explore whether these effects can influence patient outcome.

Regarding trigger sensitivity and the system's ability to meet inspiratory flow during pressure-supported breaths, the most recent anesthesia ventilators have comparable performances of recent-generation intensive care unit ventilators.

These results suggest that the alveolar ventilation based automatic control of PS during NIV with a bilevel device is feasible and leads to beneficial effects in patients with acute respiratory failure comparable to those of manually set PS. Further studies should now explore the potential of this system over longer periods in patients with acute and chronic respiratory failure.

In intubated COPD patients ventilated with pressure support He/O2 reduces intrinsic PEEP, the number of ineffective breaths, and the magnitude of inspiratory effort and WOB. He/O2 could prove useful in patients with high levels of PEEPi and WOB ventilated in pressure support, for example, during weaning.

The results of this feasibility study suggest that the system can be used during NIV in patients with acute respiratory failure. Further studies should now determine whether it can improve patient-ventilator interaction and reduce caregiver workload.

No abstract

The example experimental results presented show how the steady state ventilatory response to hypoxia may be measured using a sequential gas delivery circuit and prospective targeting of end-tidal PCO(2) and PO(2). They also demonstrate how 3 steady state isocapnic ventilatory responses to hypoxia provide hypoxic and hyperoxic ventilatory responses to CO(2) that can be compared between individuals and between different physiological and environmental conditions as well as to modified rebreathing responses.