EMTpro Podcast cover logo

Vent Settings & Lessons

1h 13m · EMTpro Podcast · 26 Aug 02:00

Steve, Dan, and Holly introduce their guest speaker, Kari, a respiratory therapist/paramedic from Washington. Kari discusses the endotracheal tube and the importance of having a correctly sized and placed tube. Kari highlights how critical it is to understand the disease processes that resulted in the patient being intubated. Ventilation and oxygenation issues are reviewed, along with the importance of PEEP in intubated patients. Kari talks about PEEP in intubated patients with asthma or COPD, as well as variations in tidal volume settings for various disease processes. The group discusses minute volume, and how a patient’s minute volume is calculated on the ventilator. Kari discusses her process of titrating ventilator settings to meet a CO2 goal. Do no harm is reviewed in relation to mechanical ventilation, and the consequences of a patient working against the ventilator are discussed. Assist control (AC) and synchronous intermittent mandatory ventilation (SIMV) modes are compared. Kari details what modes she prefers for specific patient presentations and disease processes. The group discusses volume and pressure control, and review a trauma scenario where the patient is intubated. Peak inspiratory pressure and peak alveolar pressure are reviewed, along with what abnormal values can indicate. The importance of driving pressure is highlighted. The PF ratio is discussed, along with the importance of weaning patients off of 100% FiO2. The group ends on discussing appropriate IE ratios in obstructive patients. The flow rate in both volume and pressure control is reviewed, as well as the effect of flow rate on a patient in both volume and pressure control settings. Another scenario is discussed, a COPD patient that has been intubated. Kari walks through troubleshooting tactics for ventilators and potential fixes for common issues with mechanical ventilators.

The episode Vent Settings & Lessons from the podcast EMTpro Podcast has a duration of 1:13:18. It was first published 26 Aug 02:00. The cover art and the content belong to their respective owners.

More episodes from EMTpro Podcast

Rural MCI Case Study

In today’s episode, Steve, Dan, and Holly have the opportunity to discuss an interesting MCI call with guest, Firefighter/Paramedic Kyle Snider. At the time of the incident, Kyle was a new paramedic graduate with wilderness medicine training who was working in a rural department with limited resources. Kyle discusses the call from the point of dispatch to call completion and reviews what he felt went well and what he would have changed.

EMS Administered Buprenorphine

In this episode, Holly talks about a new program she is helping head, whose goal is to provide treatment to patients suffering from opioid addiction.

Delivering Effective Ventilations Part 2

In this follow-up episode, Bruce and the team continue their discussion on ventilation and airway management. This episode goes into much greater depth on how ETCO2 can be used to manage an array of patients effectively and how a thorough understanding and monitoring of end-tidal during a resuscitation attempt can help ensure a patient remains neurologically intact, assuming ROSC is achieved.

Delivering Effective Ventilations Part 1

In this episode, Steve, Dan, and Holly talk with Bruce Opsal, a long-time firefighter and paramedic who has spent years leading training programs centered on effective airway management and ventilation. Bruce first emphasizes the importance of airway management in any patient, especially those in cardiac arrest.

Mystery Diagnoses and Hyperkalemia

This episode demonstrates the importance of history gathering and provides a deeper insight into lab values and how they are used to diagnose patients with less obvious disease processes. Listeners should walk away feeling better equipped to identify both endocrine and electrolyte imbalances in patients with unique presentations.

Every Podcast » EMTpro Podcast » Vent Settings & Lessons