airway pressure release ventilation
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airway pressure release ventilation
mechanical ventilation in which patients being treated with continuous positive airway pressure have intermittent decreases rather than increases in airway pressure and volume.
Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
air·way pres·sure re·lease ven·ti·la·tion
(APRV) (ār'wā presh'ŭr rĕ-lēs' ven'ti-lā'shŭn)A mode of mechanical ventilation.
Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing © Farlex 2012
airway pressure release ventilation
A type of mechanical ventilation in which patients breathe spontaneously at any phase of the ventilator's duty cycle at high continuous positive airway pressures (CPAP). Periodically, the level of CPAP is lowered to eliminate waste gases from the circuit.
See also: ventilation
Medical Dictionary, © 2009 Farlex and Partners