Why Do We Need A Ventilator?

Introduction

A ventilator is a device that can change, control or replace normal physiological breathing, improve respiratory function, increase lung ventilation, reduce respiratory function consumption, and save heart reserve energy. It can prevent and treat respiratory failure, reduce complications, save and prolong patient life, and has been widely used to treat respiratory failure caused by various reasons, anesthesia respiratory management during major surgery, respiratory support therapy, and emergency resuscitation.

Principle

A ventilator is a medical device that provides artificial ventilation through a mechanical device to assist or replace the patient's respiratory function. Its main principle is to deliver oxygen to the patient's respiratory tract through positive pressure ventilation, helping the patient to eliminate pulmonary effusion and secretions and improve the situation of insufficient oxygen supply.

Classification

According to the application environment, ventilators are divided into medical ventilators and home ventilators. Medical ventilators are used for patients with respiratory failure and barotrauma and patients who need respiratory support, respiratory therapy, and emergency resuscitation under the supervision of medical staff. There are mainly: therapeutic ventilators, ventilators, emergency ventilators, out-of-hospital transport ventilators, high-frequency jet ventilators, high-frequency oscillation ventilators, etc. Home ventilators are used to relieve snoring, hypoventilation and sleep apnea during sleep, and those with mild to moderate respiratory failure and respiratory insufficiency, so as to achieve the purpose of auxiliary treatment. They are usually used in home environments and can also be used in medical institutions. The main ones are: home respiratory support equipment, sleep ventilator, sleep non-invasive ventilator, continuous positive pressure ventilator, bi-level non-invasive ventilator, positive pressure ventilation therapy machine, etc.

According to the connection method, it can be divided into invasive ventilator and non-invasive ventilator. Invasive ventilator refers to the positive pressure mechanical ventilation method through the establishment of artificial airway (nasal or oral endotracheal intubation, tracheotomy), and non-invasive ventilator refers to the establishment of positive pressure mechanical ventilation method through oral and nasal masks, nasal masks, nasal tubes, etc.

In addition, according to the purpose, it can be divided into anesthesia ventilator, emergency ventilator, high-frequency ventilator, pediatric ventilator and non-invasive ventilator, etc. According to the driving method, it can be divided into pneumatic air-controlled ventilator, pneumatic electric-controlled ventilator and electric electric-controlled ventilator, etc. According to the ventilation mode, it can be divided into timed ventilator, constant volume ventilator, constant pressure ventilator and constant flow ventilator, etc.

Non-invasive ventilator

Non-invasive ventilator is a device that provides respiratory support to patients through nasal mask, oral and nasal mask or full mask. Non-invasive ventilators can help patients keep breathing when they have difficulty breathing, reduce lung damage and improve oxygenation levels. Here are some indications for using non-invasive ventilators:

Respiratory failure: Non-invasive ventilators can be used to treat respiratory failure caused by diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and pulmonary fibrosis.

Severe respiratory infections: Non-invasive ventilators can alleviate dyspnea and hypoxemia caused by severe respiratory infections such as pneumonia and influenza.

Prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia: For patients who require long-term mechanical ventilation, non-invasive ventilators can reduce the risk of ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Good comfort: Compared with invasive ventilators, non-invasive ventilators are more comfortable to use and can improve patients' treatment compliance.

Early intervention treatment with non-invasive ventilators can not only help patients improve their condition and save costs, but also avoid the pain of endotracheal intubation and reduce various complications such as invasive ventilator-associated pneumonia. However, when the non-invasive ventilator is not strong enough to support or the patient has too much respiratory secretions and cannot be cleared by themselves, an invasive ventilator is needed to help.

Invasive ventilator

Invasive ventilators are usually divided into three modes: nasal, oral, and tracheotomy.

Nasal endotracheal intubation: Nasal endotracheal intubation is easy to tolerate, can increase the patient's comfort, and is easy to fix and convenient for oral care.

Oral endotracheal intubation: easy to insert, with a thicker tube diameter, less airflow resistance, and easier sputum suction.

Tracheotomy: often used for patients with long-term mechanical ventilation.

Invasive ventilator is a device that requires intubation into the airway for mechanical ventilation treatment. The following are some indications for the use of invasive ventilators:

Severe respiratory failure: Invasive ventilators can be used to treat severe respiratory failure caused by acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), traumatic brain injury, central nervous system diseases, etc.

Severe pneumonia: Invasive ventilators can be used to treat severe pneumonia, especially when respiratory failure and hypoxemia occur.

After major surgery: Invasive ventilators can be used for rehabilitation treatment after major surgery to support patients' breathing and oxygenation.

Loss of respiratory control center: In cases such as after anesthesia, or when certain neuromuscular diseases cause respiratory arrest, invasive ventilators can assist respiratory function.

Invasive ventilators can solve the problem of unobstructed airway for patients, and at the same time improve the oxygenation status of patients. When the cause of the patient's disease is removed, the endotracheal tube can be removed and the invasive ventilator can be removed. When patients use invasive ventilators, sedatives and analgesics are generally used to reduce the patient's pain and forget the painful memories.

Precautions

1.Patient monitoring: When using a ventilator, the patient needs to be fully monitored, including blood oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, heart rate and other indicators, as well as observing the patient's state of consciousness and changes in condition.

2.Prevent infection: The ventilator is a device that is in close contact with the patient, and disinfection and cleaning are required to prevent cross infection.

3.Use of airbags: In some cases, airbags are needed to assist ventilation. When using airbags, it is necessary to pay attention to the correct operation method to avoid adverse effects on patients.

4.Emergency treatment: The ventilator may malfunction or an accident may occur. The operator needs to be familiar with the emergency treatment method of the ventilator and take timely measures to avoid harming the patient.

Conclusion

The ventilator is an important medical device that plays a key role in the treatment of respiratory diseases. Correct use of the ventilator and paying attention to related matters can improve the treatment effect and reduce the patient's discomfort and complications. In clinical practice, medical staff need to continuously learn and master the knowledge of ventilators to provide better medical services.