Effects of simulated altitude on ventilator performance: interest of acute respiratory distress syndrome and asthma lung models.

摘要

We congratulate Rodriquez et al. for their bench study to evaluate effects of low atmospheric pressure simulating altitude on Impact 754 and LTV 1000 ventilators. It was based on ventilation of a test lung set to a compliance of 0.04 L/cm H_2O and a resistance of 5 H_2O/L/s, corresponding to a normal lung model. This could seem as a major limitation, as far as aero medical evacuations of patients with significant pulmonary impairments are frequent and maintaining appropriate tidal volume is there a critical point.