Respiratory care
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Aerosol barrier enclosure systems have been designed to prevent airborne contamination, but their safety has been questioned. A vacuum tent was designed with active continuous suctioning to minimize risks of aerosol dispersion. We tested its efficacy, risk of rebreathing, and usability on a bench, in healthy volunteers, and in an ergonomic clinical assessment study. ⋯ The vacuum tent effectively minimized aerosol dispersion. Its continuous suction system set at a high suction flow was crucial to avoid the spread of aerosol particles and CO2 rebreathing.
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In recent years, mechanical power (MP) has emerged as an important concept that can significantly impact outcomes from mechanical ventilation. Several individual components of ventilatory support such as tidal volume (VT), breathing frequency, and PEEP have been shown to contribute to the extent of MP delivered from a mechanical ventilator to patients in respiratory distress/failure. The aim of this study was to identify which common individual setting of mechanical ventilation is more efficient in maintaining safe and protective levels of MP using different modes of ventilation in simulated subjects with ARDS. ⋯ VCV-CF resulted in the lowest MP. VT was the most efficient for maintaining safe and protective MP in a mathematical simulation of subjects with ARDS. In the context of maintaining low and safe MPs, ventilatory strategies with lower-than-normal VT and higher-than-normal breathing frequency will need to be implemented in patients with ARDS.
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The nasal cannula is widely regarded as a safe and effective means of administering low- and high-flow oxygen to patients irrespective of their age. However, variability in delivered oxygen concentration (FDO2 FDO2 ) via nasal cannula has the potential to pose health risks. The present study aimed to evaluate predictive equations for FDO2 over a large parameter space, including variation in breathing, oxygen flow, and upper-airway geometry representative of both young children and adults. ⋯ A new predictive equation for FDO2 was obtained that accurately matched measured data in both adult and infant airway replicas for low- and high-flow regimens.
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The purpose of peer review is to evaluate the scientific merit of the submitted work and to assess suitability for publication. This process is intended to provide an unbiased, independent critique to ensure publication of high-quality manuscripts that demonstrate validity and reliability. ⋯ When given the opportunity to revise, authors should carefully consider all comments and adequately address all concerns. This paper provides guidance to clinicians for both aspects of the peer review process: participating as a reviewer and responding to reviewer feedback.
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Background: Intrapulmonary percussive ventilation (IPV) is frequently used for airway clearance, together with delivery of aerosols containing medications. Drug delivery via IPV alone increases with decreasing percussion frequency and correlates with tidal volume (VT) while drug delivery via IPV during conventional mechanical ventilation (IPV/CMV) is not well characterized. We hypothesized that drug delivery via IPV/CMV would take place differently from that via IPV alone due to control of ventilation by CMV. ⋯ Albuterol delivery efficiency with IPV/CMV was lower for the diseased lung model than for the normal model (1.6 ± 0.3% vs 3.2 ± 0.5%, mean ± SD, P < .001), which increased with decreasing percussion frequency. In contrast, VT was lower for the normal lung model than for the diseased model (401 ± 14 mL vs 470 ± 11 mL, mean ± SD, P < .001). Conclusions: Albuterol delivery via IPV/CMV was modulated by percussion frequency but not increased with increasing VT The delivery efficiency was not sufficiently high for clinical use, in part due to nebulizer retention and extrapulmonary deposition.