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Ventilation pressure is a critical setting on a ventilator, with too low or high pressures causing problems. Positive pressure ventilation is preferred over negative pressure ventilation. Doctors must find a balance between pressure and tidal volume, and patients on a ventilator need to be sedated.
Ventilation pressure is one of the settings on a ventilator, a medical device that is used to help someone breathe when they can’t do it on their own, or to manage a patient’s breathing during anesthesia. Ventilation pressure control is critical, as too low a pressure will make the ventilator ineffective, and too high pressures can cause lung injury. Many clinicians follow established standards when it comes to determining the most appropriate ventilation pressure, adjusting the pressure as needed to meet the patient’s needs.
Most ventilators use positive pressure ventilation, where pressure in the airways increases as the ventilator is used to force air into the lungs. In negative pressure ventilation, an area of reduced pressure is created around the chest to pull air into the lungs. Negative pressure ventilation requires the patient’s chest to be in a chamber so negative pressure can be created, which is extremely cumbersome. For this reason, positive pressure ventilation is generally preferred.
When a patient is connected to a ventilator, a doctor sets the so-called tidal volume, determining how much air will be inhaled and exhaled with the assistance of the ventilator. The larger the tidal volume, the higher the ventilation pressure must be to force all the air into the lungs. The doctor must find a balance between a pressure that is too high and potentially dangerous and a pressure that is too low, which could deprive the patient of air.
The ventilation pressure is clearly written on the patient graph and the graph includes any notes about the patient’s performance on the ventilator and changes made to the ventilator settings to meet the patient’s needs. Ventilation pressure may also be part of the prescription for a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine used to treat a patient with sleep apnea. The patient adjusts the device settings to conform to the doctor’s prescription, which is based on the patient’s needs and performance in a sleep laboratory.
Being on a ventilator can be dangerous for a patient, even when the ventilation pressure is appropriate. Ventilators are associated with a number of complications leading doctors to avoid using them whenever possible and to keep sessions on a ventilator short. Patients also need to be sedated as long as they are connected to a ventilator, because otherwise they will instinctively fight the tube used to keep their airways open so the ventilator can work.
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