A full 71% of ventilated patients in the ICU show signs of agitation at least once during their stay([FOOTNOTE=Siegel MD. Management of agitation in the intensive care unit. Clin Chest Med. 2003;24(4):713-725.],[ANCHOR=],[LINK=]), often leading to the need for sedation. One cause of agitation in ventilated patients may be patient-ventilator asynchrony.
Puritan Bennett™ PAV+™ software can help clinicians address patient-ventilator asynchrony. It considers how a patient is breathing and enables the patient to determine the rate, depth and timing of each breath.
By improving the patient-ventilator relationship, clinicians can potentially make their patients more comfortable and help them breathe more naturally.†
We believe mechanical ventilation can and should be more natural. Our PAV+™ software is a breath type that better manages work of breathing in spontaneously breathing patients and promotes natural breathing compared to conventional mechanical ventilation.††,([FOOTNOTE=Pohlman MC, et al. Excessive tidal volume from breath stacking during lung-protective ventilation for acute lung injury. Crit Care Med. 2008;36(11):3019-3023.],[ANCHOR=],[LINK=]) PAV+™ software manages the patient’s work of breathing differently than other traditional modes of mechanical ventilation†† in the following ways.([FOOTNOTE=Puritan Bennett™ 980 Ventilator Operator's Manual],[ANCHOR=],[LINK=])
When the % Support is set, the patient and the ventilator are sharing the work of breathing as defined by the clinician.
The work of breathing bar, when coupled with good clinical assessment, can help take the guesswork out of determining the appropriate level of mechanical ventilation support. Providing real-time feedback on work of breathing helps the clinician keep the patient at a sustainable level of work—reducing the risk for respiratory muscle atrophy, but off-loading enough work to avoid fatigue.([FOOTNOTE=Hermans G. Increased duration of mechanical ventilation is associated with decreased diaphragmatic force: a prospective observational study. Crit Care. 2010;14:R127.],[ANCHOR=],[LINK=]),([FOOTNOTE=Anzueto A, Peters JI, Tobin MJ, et al. Effects of prolonged controlled mechanical ventilation on diaphragmatic function in healthy adult baboons. Crit Care Med. 1997;25(7):1187-1190.],[ANCHOR=],[LINK=]),([FOOTNOTE=Haitsma JJ. Diaphragmatic dysfunction in mechanical ventilation. Curr Opin Anaesthesiol. 2011;24(2):214-218.],[ANCHOR=],[LINK=])
*Proportional Assist and PAV are registered trademarks of The University of Manitoba, Canada. Used under license.
† Compared to conventional mechanical ventilation (VC,VC+,PC,PS)
†† VC, VC+, PC, PS and PSV based modes