A new method for measurement of airway occlusion pressure

Airway occlusion pressure correlates with central respiratory drive. The airway occlusion pressure (P0.1) may be an excellent predictor of the ability of patients with obstructive lung disease to wean from mechanical ventilation. We describe a new method for measuring P0.1 using digitized signals generated from standard respiratory equipment and a computer program to automatically determine P0.1 values. The accuracy of this new method was tested by comparison with standard analog recorder methods using a mechanical lung model, in ventilated patients in an intensive care unit, and in normal volunteers. In all settings, excellent correlation was obtained between P0.1 measurements by the digital Servo and standard analog methods (r = 0.99). This new method permits accurate and automatic determination of P0.1 in ventilated patients using standard respiratory equipment. The rapid response and ease of use of this method should enable evaluation of a number of physiologic variables involved in respiratory control in ventilated and nonventilated patients.