CPAP Devices for Emergency Prehospital Use: A Bench Study

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Respiratory Care
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is vital in prehospital care.
• Effective CPAP requires minimum 60 L/min air-flow and constant pressure.
• Ambulance CPAP devices operate solely on oxygen, unlike hospital-based electrical units.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate and compare the performance of five CPAP delivery devices (three masks, two helmets) in prehospital settings.
• Bench testing focused on air-flow output, pressure stability, and oxygen efficiency.
• Assessing suitability for emergency medical services (EMS) use.

Main Methods:

• Static bench testing measured air-flow, pressure, and FIO2 for each device.
• Dynamic testing evaluated airway pressure stability during simulated ventilation.
• Oxygen consumption was calculated based on achieving a 60 L/min air-flow threshold.

Main Results:

• EasyVent and EVE Coulisse demonstrated superior air-flow output compared to Ventumask and Ventukit.
• Boussignac CPAP system failed to achieve the 60 L/min air-flow minimum.
• EasyVent and EVE Coulisse showed lower oxygen consumption and better pressure stability.

Conclusions:

• Significant performance variations exist among prehospital CPAP devices.
• Only EasyVent and EVE Coulisse consistently met the essential air-flow output for effective CPAP therapy.
• These findings guide selection of reliable CPAP devices for emergency prehospital use.