Respiratory care
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Neonatal respiratory care practices have changed with breathtaking speed in the past few years. It is critical for the respiratory therapist and others caring for neonates to be up to date with current recommendations and evolving care practices. The purpose of this article is to review papers of particular note that were published in 2015 and address important aspects of newborn respiratory care.
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High-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) oxygen therapy is carried out using an air/oxygen blender, active humidifier, single heated tube, and nasal cannula. Able to deliver adequately heated and humidified medical gas at flows up to 60 L/min, it is considered to have a number of physiological advantages compared with other standard oxygen therapies, including reduced anatomical dead space, PEEP, constant F(IO2), and good humidification. Although few large randomized clinical trials have been performed, HFNC has been gaining attention as an alternative respiratory support for critically ill patients. ⋯ Even so, across the diversity, many published reports suggest that HFNC decreases breathing frequency and work of breathing and reduces the need for respiratory support escalation. Some important issues remain to be resolved, such as definitive indications for HFNC and criteria for timing the starting and stopping of HFNC and for escalating treatment. Despite these issues, HFNC has emerged as an innovative and effective modality for early treatment of adults with respiratory failure with diverse underlying diseases.
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A recent study found that activation of disconnection and low-pressure alarms is common during mouthpiece ventilation and may represent a major limitation to its use. The aim of this bench study was: (1) to investigate the technical aspects that can influence the setting of the ventilator during mouthpiece ventilation and (2) to provide a practical setting strategy to avoid the alarm activation. ⋯ An appropriate alarm setting and combination of VT and TI would allow the majority of the tested ventilators to be used for mouthpiece ventilation without alarm activation.
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Left-ventricular dysfunction associated with COPD exacerbation is frequently underestimated. We tested whether finger plethysmography waveform change during the Valsalva maneuver could aid in the distinction between patients with COPD exacerbation with and without left-ventricular dysfunction. ⋯ An increased plethysmographic pulse amplitude ratio associated with COPD exacerbation is a good predictor of left-ventricular dysfunction. This simple and noninvasive index could help emergency department physicians to detect or rule out left-ventricular dysfunction in patients with COPD exacerbation who are able to perform the Valsalva maneuver. (ClinicalTrials.gov registration NCT01619540.).