Mechanical Ventilation

Critically ill patients that require mechanical ventilation are at risk of developing secondary infections that may increase length of stay and possibly even morbidity. This fragile patient population requires special attention and meticulous adherence to established nursing standards of care. These standards of care are founded on evidenced based practices. It is important that nurses receive education about why these standards are in place and what consequences can result due to not following the established care protocols.

ICU patients suffer from a broad range of pathologies, requiring MV, sedation and use of multiples devices, which do not allow patients to protect their airway (Augustyn. 2007; Kollef. 2004).

Another ethical implication is whether or not the patient will be able to be removed from the ventilator after being placed on it. Studies have shown that patients who are on ventilators for long periods of time become dependent on the ventilator and are unable to be removed from it. For some very ill patients, there is still a risk for ventilator dependence even if the intubation is for a short time. The patient may be at risk for having to be attached for a substantial period of time to the device that he explicitly refused, if he is ever able to come off of it (Purro er al., 2010).

Original research related to sedation management occurred in the year 2000 by Kress, Pohlman, O ' Connor, and Hall. Their findings served as a landmark study and initiated the impetus related to improving our sedation practices. According to Kress et al. (2000), daily interruption of sedation led to a decrease in the number of days on the ventilator in the intensive care unit. Several studies since this time have focused on the influence of sedation protocols, and outcomes. This paper will review the synthesis of the discovered studies and highlight the noted contraindications and inconsistencies. Also, explanations including a preliminary conclusion will be discussed.

Terminal weaning is when mechanical ventilation is discontinued for a patient expected to die without its support (Knight & Espinosa, 2010). One of the most common methods of discontinuation is through slowly reducing the fraction of inspired oxygen (Knight & Espinosa, 2010). Terminal extubation is the removal of the endotracheal tube, and this can be done “during or after a terminal weaning process” (Knight & Espinosa, 2010, p. 527). Removal of life-supporting interventions is the cause of most deaths in critical care units (Knight & Espinosa, 2010). Knight and Espinosa (2010) discussed palliative sedation and terminal weaning in the same chapter because the two topics go together.

With the health care system changing so rapidly, it is important that nurses are autonomous. It is necessary, as patient advocates, that we understand the cause and effect of all entities involving our patients. Critical thinking and making the correct judgment call clinically is vital. A patient situation which comes to mind is an 86 year old female, weighing 50kg, Vital Signs: Blood Pressure: 80/50, Heart Rate: 102 (Sinus Tachycardia), Respirations:

38. American Journal of Respiratory care and critical care Medicine, Volume 175, issue 7, pages 698 – 704

My practicum experience was in a progressive care unit (PCU) at six-thirty in the morning and ended at seven-thirty at night. At the beginning of my shift, I received report on a 69-year-old male named K.K, diagnosed with chronic respiratory failure and has been hospitalized for over a year. The patient has a living will and wished not to be resuscitated; however, he wants to be on a ventilator to help him breath. K.K requires suctioning multiple times a day due to the excessive amount of copious, thick secretion around the tracheostomy. K.K has peg tube feeding for nutritional support and a condom catheter for urine output. The patient has no family but the staff members of the PCU sincerely care for K.K. He can follow commands, smile, but his extremities are extremely flaccid. The doctors have tried multiple times to wean him off the ventilator, but he always fails the last

This essay provides a written account of the holistic assessment used when admitting a patient onto a respiratory ward. A brief outline is also included of the processes involved together with the resources used for collating information. Using the Roper, Logan and Tierney activities of daily living (ADL’s), eating and drinking, has been identified as one goal of nursing care. A short reflection has also been included based on experiences gained on a first clinical placement on the ward. For the benefit of this essay the selected patient will be referred to as Mrs P in order to maintain confidentiality.

Upon arriving at the scene, the advanced care paramedic would begin the primary survey. All dangers would be assessed, including environmental dangers, animals, agitated bystanders and any other alarming cues. Once all dangers have been assessed the ACPs begin investigating the patient’s responsiveness using the acronym AVPU (QLD.gov.au, 2016). An assessment of their alertness, verbal response, response to painful stimuli or unconsciousness is completed. Once assessed, the patient’s airway is then checked to be clear of any obstructions to ensure proper respiration can occur, at this point, the triple airway manoeuvre would be adjusted to only the opening of the mouth and the jaw thrust (QLD.gov.au, 2015). If the patient complains of neck and back tenderness, neurological deficit, evidence of intoxication or a distracting injury (QLD.gov.au, 2016. 2) spinal immobilisation is required to ensure no further damage to the spinal cord occurs or an aid to keep the patient as calm as possible if a distracting injury (Hodegetts et al., 2011). The patient's breathing should then be assessed now that the spine in immobilised to ensure the depth, rate and rhythm of the breaths are adequate. If needed an oropharyngeal airway may need to be inserted into the mouth to keep the tongue from blocking the airway if it is tolerated (Higginson et al,. 2013). Lastly, in the primary survey, the

Respiratory therapists have one of the most exciting and gratifying careers within the medical field. Unfortunately as with any other job or career, it doesn’t come without having challenging times. Respiratory therapists work along-side physicians and are highly trained to treat patients with any sort of lung concern or breathing complications. This job requires hands on care, and deals with life and death daily. One specific scope of this field involves caring for patients (of all ages) attached to mechanical ventilation. It is the respiratory therapists’ responsibility to remove assistive ventilation to patients with written order from the doctor; which ultimately results in death of the patient (Keene, Samples, Masini, Byington).

Airway pressure release ventilation (APRV) is a fairly new mode of ventilation, just becoming available in the U.S. in the mid-1990’s. APRV is “inverse ratio, pressure controlled, intermittent mandatory ventilation with unrestricted spontaneous breathing and it is based on the principle of open lung approach”. (Daoud, Farag, & Chatburn, 2012) The open lung approach is “concept of maximizing and maintaining alveolar recruitment throughout the ventilatory cycle by potentially ventilating the lung on the steep portion of the pressure-volume curve, thus avoiding over-distention on inspiration and alveolar collapse on exhalation”. (2012) APRV “was first used and described in 1987 as CPAP with an intermittent pressure release phase. Continuous airway pressure is applied to maintain adequate lung volume and improve alveolar recruitment. It is a pressure-limited, time-cycled, volume-variable mode of ventilation.” (2012)

ation that I will be discussing is Airway Pressure Release Ventilation (APRV). I have not had an opportunity to use this mode, so I thought I would research it for this assignment. “The degree of ventilator support with APRV is determined by the duration of the two CPAP levels and the mechanically delivered tidal volume. Depends mainly on respiratory compliance and the difference between the CPAP levels. By design, changes in ventilatory demand do not alter the level of mechanical support during APRV. When spontaneous breathing is absent, APRV is not different from conventional pressure-controlled, time-cycled mechanical ventilation”( Putensen, C. )APRV is a form of improved pressure ventilation allowing unrestricted spontaneous breath at an

The purpose of this paper is to use the most recent research studies to address the complications incurred by the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) populations on mechanical ventilation and to highlight alternative therapies to improve long-term health and wellness. According to Morris (201), implementing ventilator therapy with prolonged standard bed rest is associated

The medical field is very fast-paced and new technological discoveries are constantly being made. When one thinks of new medical findings, cancer cures and surgery are common thoughts. However, a very interesting and slightly controversial discovery has been made in the neonatal world. The Neurally Adjusted Ventilatory Assist (NAVA) is “a form of partial ventilator assistance in which the machine delivers assistance in proportion to the electrical activity of the diaphragm (EAdi), as assessed by means of transesophageal electromyography” (Gianmaria Cammarota et al., 2011). It is meant to lower inspiratory pressure and respiratory muscle load in preterm infants (Gianmaria Cammarota et al., 2011). In other words, it helps the patient- whether they be an infant or an adult- breathe when their lungs aren’t able to aid in that process. M. Ferrer and P. Pelosi, authors of “European Respiratory Monograph 55: New Developments in Mechanical Ventilation” say that the signal from the EAdi is used to regulate NAVA, which then causes the airways to receive pressure. “With NAVA, both timing and the magnitude ventilator delivered assistance are controlled by the EAdi” (M. Ferrer & P. Pelosi., 2012, p 116). My research proves that NAVA can work better than pressure support ventilation (PSV) and can be used not only for neonates, but patients in the ICU that are affected by lung-related injury or illness that causes them to have difficulty breathing on their own; though there are