Skip to main content

Ventilators and COVID-19

Reports today that the UK government have decided not to go ahead with the plan to get ventilators manufactured by Formula 1 teams like Renault and Red Bull.

Ventilation of the lungs isn't like filling a balloon with air. The use of PEEP, positive end-expiratory pressure, isn't how the lungs function usually. 



Inflation of our lungs occurs by developing a negative pressure in the thorax by contracting the diaphragm and raising the muscles between our ribs. This both keeps the air sacs (alveoli) open and inflates them, producing airflow. It is the negative pressure compared to the air surrounding us that pulls air into the lungs.  The air moves down the pressure gradient. 

Applying a pressure inside the air sacs can cause damage to the delicate lining leading to pulmonary oedema and worsening hypoxemia that can prolong mechanical ventilation, this can then lead to multi-system organ dysfunction, and increased mortality. 

Not all COVID-19 patients in ICUs have air sacs congested with fluid; some have problems because of fluid in the spaces between the air sac and the capillaries making oxygen uptake difficult.

The ventilation required is much more sensitive. This is why scurrying around for ventilators isn't the answer. The right type is needed.




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Prioritising people in nursing care.

There has been in recent years concern that care in the NHS has not been sufficiently 'patient centred', or responsive to the needs of the patient on a case basis. It has been felt in care that it as been the patient who has had to adapt to the regime of care, rather than the other way around. Putting patients at the centre of care means being responsive to their needs and supporting them through the process of health care delivery.  Patients should not become identikit sausages in a production line. The nurses body, the Nursing and Midwifery Council has responded to this challenge with a revised code of practice reflection get changes in health and social care since the previous code was published in 2008. The Code describes the professional standards of practice and behaviour for nurses and midwives. Four themes describe what nurses and midwives are expected to do: prioritise people practise effectively preserve safety, and promote professionalism and trust. The
Post a Comment
Read more

The Thin End account of COVID Lockdown

Post a Comment
Read more

Ian Duncan-Smith says he wants to make those on benefits 'better people'!

By any account, the government's austerity strategy is utilitarian. It justifies its approach by the presumed potential ends. It's objective is to cut the deficit, but it has also adopted another objective which is specifically targeted. It seeks to drive people off benefits and 'back to work'.  The two together are toxic to the poorest in society. Those least able to cope are the most affected by the cuts in benefits and the loss of services. It is the coupling of these two strategic aims that make their policies ethically questionable. For, by combining the two, slashing the value of benefits to make budget savings while also changing the benefits system, the highest burden falls on a specific group, those dependent on benefits. For the greater good of the majority, a minority group, those on benefits, are being sacrificed; sacrificed on the altar of austerity. And they are being sacrificed in part so that others may be spared. Utilitarian ethics considers the ba
7 comments
Read more