Respiratory care
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Editorial Comment
Can Respiratory Therapists Impact COPD Readmissions and Costs?
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A pneumatic tube system (PTS) is a cost-effective, rapid transport modality that utilizes induced pressure changes. We evaluated the clinical importance of 2 transport modalities, human courier and PTS, for blood gas specimens. ⋯ The difference in the PO2 and PaCO2 of paired (walked vs tubed) arterial and venous blood gas specimens demonstrated a slight bias. PaCO2 values demonstrated the greatest bias, however not clinically important. Thus, PTS transport does not impact clinical interpretations of blood gas values.
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Mechanically assisted coughing with mechanical in-exsufflation (MI-E) is recommended for noninvasive management of respiratory secretions in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). To improve the effectiveness of the technique, a new device combining MI-E with high-frequency oscillations (HFO) has been developed. This work aimed to assess the effect of HFO on the cough peak flow generated by MI-E in medically stable subjects with ALS. ⋯ The addition of HFO to mechanically assisted coughing with MI-E does not have an effect on the cough peak flow of medically stable subjects with ALS.