[Use of high frequency jet ventilation in extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy]

High frequency jet ventilation (HFJV) was used in 68 patients which were treated with extracorporal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) because of stone diseases in the upper urinary tract. The question was whether HFJV in combination with a semiclosed conventional circle system offered a practicable and safe technique to minimize the oscillations which are proportional to the applied tidal volume and to the diaphragmatic movements. With IPPV the mean distance of the stone movement was 32 mm, whereas with the application of HFJV the stones oscillated around their resting position within limits of 2 to 3 mm (ventilation frequency: 200-300/min, driving pressure: 0.6-1.1 bar, tidal volume: 3-8 1/min). The effectiveness of HFJV was monitored by the end-tidal carbon dioxide tension (PeCO2) during intermittently conventional ventilation with "adequate" tidal volumes (TV 15 ml/kg bw). The correlation between PeCO2 and simultaneous measured PaCO2 was r = 0,91. The application of HFJV enhances the efficiency of ESWL. So the treatment of stones of the upper urinary tract can be varied by more subtle dosage of the incoming shock wave energy and by stabilisation of the stones in the underlying ellipsoid of the energy focus.