Week 5 - Mechanical Ventilation/Airway Pressure, Volume and Flow Monitoring Flashcards
What are the types of ventilators and their driving mechanisms?
Bellows: pneumatic
Piston: electric
Bellows ventilators are _____ driven and _____ controlled.
Bellows ventilators are pneumatically driven and electronically controlled
-a pneumatic force compresses a bellows, which empties its contents (gas from flowmeters and vaporizer) into the circuit
What is the driving gas for a Bellows Ventilator?
Oxygen, Air, or a venturi mix of O2 and air *Some may switch if one gas is lost
What are the two compartments of Bellows Ventilators?
Outer Compartment: driving gas enters outer compartment and depresses the bellows
Inner Compartment: delivers gas to patient breathing circuit
How does a Bellow Ventilator function?
- Movement of bellows is controlled by drive gas which enters outer chamber and pushes bellows containing circuit gas into breathing circuit
- During exhalation the bellow fills with gas from the breathing circuit and fresh gas (from flowmeters)
- Excess gas and pressure is vented out to scavenging system (spill valve) *need to have a leak free system for bellow to fill during exhalation
What are the types of Bellows in a Bellow Ventilator?
“Hanging Bellows” or Descending Bellows: driving gas pushes bellow up and the weighted bellow drops back down automatically (safety issue if there is a leak since bellow will descend anyway, entraining air)
Ascending Bellows: filling is dependent on exhaled gases from tight circuit (fail to rise if leak is greater than FGF)
What are the ventilator power sources?
Compressed gas (pneumatic) –> older bellows type
Electric –> Piston
Combination of compressed gas and electric –> modern bellows type, electronically controlled, pneumatically driven
What are Piston Ventilators driven by?
Driven by compression from an electric motor – do not require driving gas
The computer determines the amount the piston needs to move to deliver the set tidal volume or pressure
What is the cylinder filled with at the end of inspiration in a Piston Ventilator?
at the end of inspiration the piston retracts and the cylinder is filled with fresh gas (from flowmeters) and exhaled gases that have passed through the CO2 absorber
What factors may affect delivered tidal volume from ventilators?
Fresh Gas Flow: changes in flow rate, I:E ratios, or RR could alter delivered volume (modern machines adjust for this vis fresh gas flow compensation and fresh gas decoupling)
Compliance of Circuit: modern machines calculate for this and compensate for it
What is fresh gas decoupling?
prevents fresh gas flow from entering the breathing system during inspiration
What are the different ventilator modes?
Mandatory Ventilation: does not sense what the pt is doing and will deliver determined setting no matter what
-volume control, pressure control, or SIMV (pressure or volume)
Support Ventilation: pt is breathing and will provide support when the pt takes a breath
-PSV
What are the ventilator settings?
PEEP
Rate
I:E ratio
Pressure Volume
Describe Volume Control Ventilation
- You set the tidal volume and RR
- Peak Pressure will vary (fluctuates depending on lung compliance/resistance)
- Minute Ventilation will remain constant
- Flow remains constant while the volume is being delivered
- The square wave flow pattern results in higher peak pressure for the same tidal volume
Describe Pressure Control Ventilation
- You set the peak pressure and RR
- Tidal volume will vary based on patient resistance and compliance (fluctuates depending on how much flow is required to reach the target pressure)
- Minute ventilation will vary
- Peak flow remains the same but total flow fluctuates depending on lung compliance (decelerating flow pattern)
- May get you better volume for your pressure, but there is a greater risk of under ventilating
_____ ventilation achieves a higher tidal volume than _____ ventilation at the same peak pressure.
Pressure-limited ventilation achieves a higher tidal volume than volume-limited ventilation at the same peak pressure
Describe Pressure Control-Volume Guarantee (PCV-VG)/Pressure Regulated Volume Control (PVRC) Ventilation
- Smart mode where you set a desired tidal volume and a max pressure that you will tolerate to get the set tidal volume
- Delivers the preset tidal volume with the lowest possible pressure using a decelerating flow pattern (like pressure control does)
- The first breath delivered to the pt is a volume-controlled breath (pt’s compliance is determined from this volume breath; inspiratory pressure level is then established)
What does the volume guarantee ensure in the PCV-VG ventilator mode?
That for all mandatory breaths the set tidal volume is applied with the minimum pressure necessary
If the resistance or compliance changes, the pressure adapts gradually over a few breaths to restore the set tidal volume
Describe Pressure Support Ventilation
- Used for patients who are spontaneously breathing
- You set the pressure support for the machine to deliver during spontaneous breathing
- Once the ventilator senses an inspiratory effort from the pt, the vent provides constant pressure to the airway to relieve work of breathing
*Helps breathe off the gases at the end of a case
Describe PSV-Pro Ventilation
Back up ventilation incase patient stops breathing
Back up mode is SIMV-PC
- you set a minimum mandatory RR and pressure
- in between mandatory breaths, the pt receives pressure support
Describe Synchronized Intermittent Mandatory ventilation (SIMV)
Combination of spontaneous breathing and mandatory ventilation
Machine breaths are delivered to patient at set intervals
SIMV-VC: you set the tidal volume and RR
SIMV-PC: you set the pressure and RR
Fill in the table: Fixed or Variable – Minimum Set or Not set
What are the hazards with ventilators?
Ventilator Failure
Gas Supply Lost
Incorrect Ventilator Settings
Alarm Failure (vigilance is key – know the settings and never turn them off)
What could the incorrect vent settings lead to?
Barotrauma (especially peds pts)
Hypoventilation or Hyperventilation
*Know the default settings of your vent
*Check settings before induction
What do the pressure, airflow, and volume measurements quantify?
basic physiologic properties of the respiratory system such as resistance, compliance, and work of breathing
*interpretation of these variables is essential to vent management w/ ultimate goal of optimizing ventilation or the process by which O2 and CO2 are exchanged
Define Tidal Volume (mL)
volume of gas entering (inspiration) or leaving (expiration) a patient during the inspiratory or expiratory phase
Define Minute Volume/Ventilation (mL/min)
Sum of all tidal volumes in a minute
Define Peak Pressure (cmH2O)
Maximum pressure during the inspiratory phase time
Define PEEP (cmH2O)
Positive pressure kept in the airway at end exhalation
Define Inspiratory/Expiratory Flow Rate (mL/min)
rate at which gas is inspired/exhaled
Define Inspiratory/Expiratory Flow Time (sec)
period between the beginning and end of inspiration/expiration
Define Inspirator Pause Time (sec)
the portion of inspiratory phase at which the lungs are held inflated at a fixed pressure or volume
-a delay in the onset of expiration after inspiration is complete
*it may improve gas distribution/ventilation within the small airways
*primary use is to measure static lung compliance
Define Expiratory Pause Time (sec)
time from the end of expiratory flow to the start of inspiratory flow
Define Inspiratory/Expiratory Phase Time (sec)
the entire time between start of inspiratory/expiratory flow to the start of expiratory/inspiratory flow
How can the inspiratory/expiratory flow rate parameter be manipulated?
pressure vs volume control affects flow rate patterns
How can the inspiratory/expiratory flow time parameter be manipulated?
usually can adjust inspiratory rise time