REASON Proportional assist ventilation plus (PAV+) applies pressure depending on the patient's inspiratory effort, automatically adjusting flow and volume assist to changes in respiratory mechanics. We aimed to assess the clinical factors associated with the success of PAV+ as first-line support in the acute phase of critical illness. METHODS A prospective cohort study was carried out. Mechan...

BACKGROUND Neurally adjusted ventilatory assist (NAVA) delivers pressure in proportion to diaphragm electrical activity (Eadi). However, each patient responds differently to NAVA levels. This study aims to examine the matching between tidal volume (Vt) and patients' inspiratory demand (Eadi), and to investigate patient-specific response to various NAVA levels in non-invasively ventilated patien...

Berlin Heart INCOR system is a left ventricle assist device (LVAD), which generates a laminar blood flow. Its inflow canula is implanted in the heart apex, while its outflow canula-in the ascending aorta. In the present work a new alternative technique for implantation of the device's inflow canula is reported. The suggested technique is quicker and easier than the conventional one. It saves ti...

INTRODUCTION The objective was to compare the impact of three assistance levels of different modes of mechanical ventilation; neurally adjusted ventilatory assist (NAVA), proportional assist ventilation (PAV), and pressure support ventilation (PSV) on major features of patient-ventilator interaction. METHODS PSV, NAVA, and PAV were set to obtain a tidal volume (VT) of 6 to 8 ml/kg (PSV₁₀₀, NA...

Introduction During assisted mechanical ventilation, appropriate WOB prevents diaphragm atrophy and fastens weaning. During PSV the ventilator support is fixed, irrespective of the patient’s effort. On the contrary, both the NAVA and PAV + algorithms are designed to amplify patient’s spontaneous effort. [1], [2] Objectives To test if the assist ventilation mode algorithm has an impact on patien...

PROPORTIONAL assist ventilation (PAV) is a new mode of synchronized partial ventilatory support designed to optimize adaptation of the ventilator to the patient.1 Proportional assist ventilation differs markedly from other modes of partial assistance. Rather than providing a fixed volume or pressure assistance to the patient, PAV generates pressure assistance in proportion to the patient’s own ...

Increased knowledge of the mechanisms that determine respiratory failure has led to the development of new technologies aimed at improving ventilatory treatment. Proportional assist ventilation and neurally adjusted ventilatory assist have been designed with the goal of improving patient-ventilator interaction by matching the ventilator support with the neural output of the respiratory centers....

Assisted ventilation is a highly complex process that requires an intimate interaction between the ventilator and the patient. The complexity of this form of ventilation is frequently underappreciated by the bedside clinician. In assisted mechanical ventilation, regardless of the specific mode, the ventilator's gas delivery pattern and the patient's breathing pattern must match near perfectly o...

Evaluation and management of abdominal pathology in patients with ventricular assist devices is likely to become increasingly important as the utilization of these devices expands. Ventricular assist devices represent a class of intracorporeal or paracorporeal mechanical devices that augment cardiac output in patients with congestive heart failure. Patients with ventricular assist devices suppo...