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Thursday, September 13, 2012

Dead Falls, Trip Wires, and Ventilator Settings



As many may not know I grew up in the Midwest and was raised on the principles of self-reliance and the respect for nature. I was taught how to hunt, fish, trap, forge, and grow one’s own vegetables. Our family even attempted to save enough food for a year, preparation for hard times or a catastrophic event (most likely a tornado).


I currently live on the east coast and do not apply all these life lessons. I do not hunt, fish, forge, or even garden any more. I have done a poor job of preparing for hurricanes, a small supply of food and water but not the recommended 72 hour stash that FEMA suggests.

However, I do use one skill ever so often; it is in relation to trapping (See video below of me setting a trap for my son).

Early on in life I learned that the most important part of a good trap was the triggering mechanism. If the trigger was too sensitive it would go off prematurely and if it was not sensitive enough it would not go off at all.

This is similar to setting your trigger on the ventilator. Like a good trap the ventilator trigger I believe is one of the most important settings. This setting directly affects how the patient interacts with the ventilator.

Additionally, trigger asynchronies are the most common type of patient-ventilator asynchronies.

So I would encourage the practitioner to spend more time evaluating the trigger sensitivity.



NOTE- the video demonstrates the end product of my booby trap. Trap design < 5 minutes, triggering design and sensitivity >15. 
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