Abstract
It is important to pay attention to physiologic and technical issues when caring for mechanically ventilated patients. For an adequate tidal volume, the circuit and interface between the patient and the ventilator must be unobstructed and leak-free and have minimal compliance and compressible volume. In this chapter, humidification and ventilator circuit are discussed.
Ventilator gases are typically dry, and artificial airways are used to bypass the upper airways of such patients. A lack of humidity can have physiologic effects due to either heat loss or moisture loss. The inspired gases are humidified, resulting in heat loss from the respiratory tract. Although breathing is an important part of temperature homeostasis, heat loss due to other mechanisms tends to be more significant. The loss of moisture from the respiratory tract, and subsequent dehydration of the respiratory tract, results in epithelial damage, particularly to the trachea and upper bronchi. This results in an alteration of the pulmonary function, such as decreased compliance and decreased surfactant activity. In clinical terms, atelectasis, hypoxemia, and drying of secretions are possible.
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Zahghloul, Y., Navarrete, A. (2022). Humidification and Ventilator Circuit. In: Hidalgo, J., Hyzy, R.C., Mohamed Reda Taha, A., Tolba, Y.Y.A. (eds) Personalized Mechanical Ventilation . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14138-6_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14138-6_3
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