Abstract
For more than 40 years conventional mechanical ventilation has been used for the treatment of neonatal respiratory failure. Until relatively recently, this was accomplished with time-cycled pressure-limited ventilation, using intermittent mandatory ventilation. Earlier attempts at volume-targeted ventilation were largely ineffective because of technological limitations. The advent of microprocessor-based devices gives the clinician an option to choose either target variable to treat neonatal patients. This paper reviews the principles of each and the accumulated evidence.
Footnotes
- Correspondence: Steven M Donn MD, Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, F5790, Mott Children's' Hospital, University of Michigan Health System, 1500 E Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor MI 48109-0254. E-mail: smdonnmd{at}med.umich.edu.
Dr Donn presented a version of this manuscript at the New Horizons Symposium, “Neonatal Respiratory Care,” at the International Respiratory Congress of the American Association for Respiratory Care, at the 54th International Respiratory Congress of the American Association for Respiratory Care, held December 13-16, 2008, in Anaheim, California.
- Copyright © 2009 by Daedalus Enterprises Inc.
