The Ventilator Book

Print copy, 1st edition

This book is a practical and easily understandable guide for mechanical ventilation. With a focus on the basics, this text begins with a detailed account of the mechanisms of spontaneous breathing as a reference point to then describe how a ventilator actually works and how to effectively use it in practice. The text then details: the various modes of ventilation commonly used in clinical practice; patient-ventilator interactions and dyssynchrony; how to approach a patient on the ventilator with respiratory decompensation; the optimal ventilator management for common disease states like acute respiratory distress syndrome and obstructive lung disease; the process of ventilator weaning; and hemodynamic effects of mechanical ventilation. Written for medical students, residents, and practicing physicians in a variety of different specialties (including internal medicine, critical care, surgery and anesthesiology), this book will instruct readers on how to effectively manage a ventilator, as well as explain the underlying interactions between it and the critically ill patient.

A user-friendly guide to the basic principles and the technical aspects of mechanical ventilation and modern complex ventilator systems

Simplify, simplify! Henry David Thoreau For writers of technical books, there can be no better piece of advice. Around the time of writing the first edition – about a decade ago – there were very few monographs on this s- ject: today, there are possibly no less than 20. Based on critical inputs, this edition stands thoroughly revamped. New chapters on ventilator waveforms, airway humidification, and aerosol therapy in the ICU now find a place. Novel software-based modes of ventilation have been included. Ventilator-associated pneumonia has been se- rated into a new chapter. Many new diagrams and algorithms have been added. As in the previous edition, considerable energy has been spent in presenting the material in a reader-friendly, conv- sational style. And as before, the book remains firmly rooted in physiology. My thanks are due to Madhu Reddy, Director of Universities Press – formerly a professional associate and now a friend, P. Sudhir, my tireless Pulmonary Function Lab technician who found the time to type the bits and pieces of this manuscript in between patients, A. Sobha for superbly organizing my time, Grant Weston and Cate Rogers at Springer, London, Balasaraswathi Jayakumar at Spi, India for her tremendous support, and to Dr. C. Eshwar Prasad, who, for his words of advice, I should have thanked years ago. vii viii Preface to the Second Edition Above all, I thank my wife and daughters, for understanding.

A raging pandemic, a dearth of life-saving equipment, and ninety days to manufacture a world-class ventilator. On 24 March 2020, a nationwide lockdown was imposed in India in the face of a formidable adversary, the Covid-19 pandemic. With the number of cases increasing exponentially, hospitals were faced with a dangerous shortage of life-saving equipment and personnel. In response to the imminent crisis, Amitabha Bandyopadhyay and Srikant Sastri formed the IIT Kanpur ventilator Consortium as a task force to assist a young startup, Nocca Robotics, in building affordable high-quality ventilators for India’s cash-strapped hospitals. Under the mentorship of reputed industry leaders, the task force and the Nocca team worked tirelessly against unprecedented odds – trammelled by a ban on imports and telecommuting through Zoom and Whatsapp in the face of stringent lockdown restrictions – to manufacture the Noccarc V310 in record time. This is the incredible story of its conception, creation and success, in the words of the task force co-leaders themselves. Inspiring and riveting, The Ventilator Project also offers an unmatched blueprint for business in the post-Covid era through first-hand lessons gleaned during the task force’s phenomenal ninety-day run. It proves that India, with its deep recesses of talent and ingenuity, has the potential to be a world leader in both business and social impact.

Mechanical ventilation is an essential life-sustaining therapy for many critically-ill patients. As technology has evolved, clinicians have been presented with an increasing number of ventilator options as well as an ever-expanding and confusing list of terms, abbreviations, and acronyms. Unfortunately, this has made it extremely difficult for clinicians at all levels of training to truly understand mechanical ventilation and to optimally manage patients with respiratory failure. Mechanical Ventilation was written to address these problems. This handbook provides students, residents, fellows, and practicing physicians with a clear explanation of essential physiology, terms and acronyms, and ventilator modes and breath types. It describes how mechanical ventilators work and explains clearly and concisely how to write ventilator orders, how to manage patients with many different causes of respiratory failure, how to "wean" patients from the ventilator, and much more. Mechanical Ventilation is meant to be carried and used at the bedside and to allow everyone who cares for critically-ill patients to master this essential therapy.

A practical application-based guide to adult mechanical ventilation This trusted guide is written from the perspective of authors who have more than seventy-five years' experience as clinicians, educators, researchers, and authors. Featuring chapters that are concise, focused, and practical, this book is unique. Unlike other references on the topic, this resource is about mechanical ventilation rather than mechanical ventilators. It is written to provide a solid understanding of the general principles and essential foundational knowledge of mechanical ventilation as required by respiratory therapists and critical care physicians. To make it clinically relevant, Essentials of Mechanical Ventilation includes disease-specific chapters related to mechanical ventilation in these conditions. Essentials of Mechanical Ventilation is divided into four parts: Part One, Principles of Mechanical Ventilation describes basic principles of mechanical ventilation and then continues with issues such as indications for mechanical ventilation, appropriate physiologic goals, and ventilator liberation. Part Two, Ventilator Management, gives practical advice for ventilating patients with a variety of diseases. Part Three, Monitoring During Mechanical Ventilation, discusses blood gases, hemodynamics, mechanics, and waveforms. Part Four, Topics in Mechanical Ventilation, covers issues such as airway management, aerosol delivery, and extracorporeal life support. Essentials of Mechanical Ventilation is a true “must read” for all clinicians caring for mechanically ventilated patients.