Mechanical ventilation overview
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Vishnu Vardhan Serla M.B.B.S. [2]
Overview
In medicine, mechanical ventilation is a method to mechanically assist or replace spontaneous breathing when patients cannot do so on their own, and must be done so after invasive intubation with an endotracheal or tracheostomy tube through which air is directly delivered (in contrast to noninvasive ventilation). In many cases, mechanical ventilation is used in acute settings such as in the ICU for a short period of time during a serious illness. For some patients who have certain chronic illnesses that require long-term ventilation assistance, they are also able to do so at home or other nursing/rehabilitation institution with the help of respiratory therapists and physicians. The main form of mechanical ventilation currently is positive pressure ventilation, which works by increasing the pressure in the patient's airway and thus forcing additional air into the lungs. This is in contrast to the more historically common negative pressure ventilators (for example, the "iron lung") that create a negative pressure environment around the patient's chest, thus sucking air into the lungs. Although often a life-saving technique, mechanical ventilation carries many potential complications including pneumothorax, airway injury, alveolar damage, and ventilator-associated pneumonia, among others. Accordingly it is generally weaned off or to minimal settings as soon as possible.