Aerosol devices are usually placed in three different locations on the
ventilator circuit: (1) attached to the vented mask with leak port, (2) located between the leak port and ventilator on the NIV circuit, or (3) placed between the leak port on the circuit and unvented mask.
In a systematic review and meta-analysis study about the effect of changing
ventilator circuits in preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia concluded that routine change of
ventilator circuits is not necessary and changing only when contaminated or damaged is adequate.22 In another study conducted in a pediatric ICU there was no difference between changing
ventilator circuit every three days or every seven days in terms of risk of ventilator-associated pneumonia.23 In this study, the ratio of nurses replying "I change the
ventilator circuits and moisturizers at least seven days after the procedure when there is no visible contamination" was 51.8% (Table-IV).
[6] is one of the few identified that investigated the prevalence of nebuliser contamination and decontamination and storage protocols for nebulisers used within a
ventilator circuit. In this study, nebulisation was mainly performed using Micro Mist nebulisers, and more than half of these nebulisers (52%) presented with bacterial growth.
Caption: Figure 1: Configuration of the
ventilator circuit. A thermohygrometer was inserted between the distal end of the heated inspiratory circuit and the Y-piece.
In the United Kingdom, reusable
ventilator circuits were also identified as the cause of a B.
Another way of preventing VAP is to keep the
ventilator circuit clean.
The ICU poses numerous challenges to students, including the physiologic instability of patients, involvement of multiple physiologic systems, the need for close monitoring of physiologic responses to movement and other physical therapy interventions, and the number and complexity of invasive and noninvasive monitoring and interventional devices (chest tube, feeding tube, electrocardiogram leads, tracheostomy tube with
ventilator circuit, arterial line, etc).
None of these studies identified a greater risk of VAP when extending
ventilator circuit change intervals beyond 2 days (Han et al 2001; Lien et al 2001; Fink et al 1998; Kotilainen and Keroak 1997; Hess et al 1995).
Patients can breathe effectively through a
ventilator circuit utilising the endotracheal tube (ET) and humidified oxygen.
Make sure that the
ventilator circuit is intact, with the endotracheal tube in the correct position.
* change of
ventilator circuit no more often than every 48 hours, and
In addition to being a modular system, the endotracheal tube (ETT) Connector Access Valve completely isolates the suction catheter from the patient, maintains an obstruction-free airway after each suction episode, and minimizes
ventilator circuit breaks, maintaining efficient ventilation reducing the potential for infection.