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Published on: November 4, 2010
Pressure-support ventilation in children with severe asthma
1Department of Anesthesiology/Critical Care Medicine, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Insights
Pressure-support ventilation effectively manages children with severe asthma requiring mechanical ventilation. This method allows spontaneous breathing and patient-controlled ventilation, improving outcomes in status asthmaticus.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
- Respiratory Physiology
- Mechanical Ventilation
Background:
- Status asthmaticus in children can lead to respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation.
- Traditional mechanical ventilation may present challenges in managing severe asthma exacerbations.
Observation:
- A case series evaluated pressure-support ventilation (PSV) in pediatric patients with status asthmaticus.
- Patients received PSV after failing medical therapy and requiring mechanical ventilation.
- Respiratory parameters and arterial blood gases were monitored before, during, and after PSV initiation.
Findings:
- PSV facilitated patient-cycled spontaneous ventilation in all children.
- Patients achieved normalized arterial pH and decreased Paco2 within 6 hours of PSV initiation.
- Key respiratory parameters, including respiratory rate and airway pressures, were assessed.
Implications:
- PSV offers a potential advantage in managing severe pediatric asthma by allowing patient-driven respiratory patterns.
- This ventilatory mode may improve patient comfort and reduce ventilator-induced lung injury.
- Further research could explore long-term outcomes and optimal PSV settings for pediatric status asthmaticus.
Objective:
To review the efficacy of pressure-support ventilation in the management of children with status asthmaticus requiring mechanical ventilation.
Design:
A case series.
Setting:
A university hospital.
Subjects:
Children requiring mechanical ventilation due to respiratory failure despite medical therapy during an episode of acute asthma.
Interventions:
Mechanical ventilation with pressure-support ventilation.
Measurements And Main Results:
Respiratory parameters (ventilatory settings, minute ventilation, respiratory rate, airway pressures) and blood gases were determined before, on initiation, and for 6 hrs after pressure-support ventilation. Spontaneous ventilation with an initial respiratory rate of 45 breaths/min (range 31 to 46) and an inspiration/expiration ratio (I/E) of 1:1.2 (range 1:1.1 to 1:2) was readily established in each patient. Arterial pH normalized (7.41, range 7.39 to 7.43) within 6 hrs (4.25, range 2 to 6) of the time at which ventilation was begun and the Paco2 decreased (p < .02) to 44 torr (range 39 to 47) (5.9 kPa, range 5.2 to 6.3) during pressure support ventilation.
Conclusion:
Pressure-support ventilation permitted patient-cycled spontaneous ventilation in children with asthma. The ability of patients to determine their own respiratory pattern and to maintain forced exhalation during pressure-support ventilation may have important advantages in children with severe asthma who require mechanical ventilation.
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