Intensive care medicine experimental
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Intensive Care Med Exp · Apr 2018
Preliminary experience on the safety and tolerability of mechanical "insufflation-exsufflation" in subjects with artificial airway.
Catheter suctioning of respiratory secretions in intubated subjects is limited to the proximal airway and associated with traumatic lesions to the mucosa and poor tolerance. "Mechanical insufflation-exsufflation" exerts positive pressure, followed by an abrupt drop to negative pressure. Potential advantages of this technique are aspiration of distal airway secretions, avoiding trauma, and improving tolerance. ⋯ Our preliminary data suggest that mechanical insufflation-exsufflation may be safe and effective in patients with artificial airway. Safety and efficacy need to be confirmed in larger studies with different patient populations.