So, they wanted to talk to us about VPAP. Their goal was to sell VPAP units. They kept talking over each other so you could see their excitement. VPAP units work. Studies show they prevent readmissions for COPD, so they said. They said it's easy to qualify patients for VPAP. All they have to do is have one blood gas with a PaCO2 greater than 50. It doesn't matter when that ABG was done. It could have even been done in the ER when the patient was having a flare-up. One of the reps said that it's easy setting patients up on VPAP. All we had to do was notify them that a patient qualifies. Then they take over from there. They said that they talk to the doctor. They said that they talk to the patient. And then they set the patient us. One of the reps is the one who works with the patients. He said that he has been doing this for two years, and only had one patient reject the machine. He said they are tolerated that much. They made VPAP sound so good. They made it sound way ...
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BiPAP and CPAP: Answering all your questions
Your question : How high can you set CPAP? What are the disadvantages of CPAP that is too high? My answer . This is a good question. According to Egans, CPAP is a continuous flow of pressure on inspiration and expiration.If there are alveoli that are collapsed due to atelectasis, CPAP acts to recruit them, and open them up. It thereby acts as a splint to keep them open to improve oxygenation. If CPAP levels are set too high, alveoli will be over-distended, and this may result in air trapping. (1, page 1066) Another thing to keep in mind here is that CPAP acts to reduce venous return to the heart so the heart doesn't have to work so hard to pump blood through the body. This is the advantage of using CPAP to treat heart failure. If CPAP is set too high, this pressure may ultimately reduce venous return enough as to cause a reduction in cardiac output, which can be measured by a drop in blood pressure. Over-distended alveoli and air trapping can also result in a drop in oxygen levels,...
Patient Education: CPAP -vs- BiPAP
The following was originally published at healthcentral.com/copd on April 17, 2015. CPAP -vs- BiPAP: What You Need To Know Some people with COPD, or COPD plus sleep apnea, may benefit from CPAP or BiPAP. So what are these, and how might they benefit you? Ventilation . Your lungs make sure you are taking in enough oxygen and blowing off carbon dioxide. Oxygen is an essential element in the air that your cells need to make energy. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a waste product made by cells. An inhalation of an adequate depth is required for adequate ventilation to occur. Diseases like COPD and Sleep Apnea may compromise ventilation, making it so you are not taking in enough oxygen and/ or blowing off enough CO2. COPD . The disease process increases resistance in your airways, forcing you to work hard to take in a breath. This causes shallow breathing, causing areas inside your lungs that do not stay patent, a medical term for open. Less ventilation occurs, causing your oxygen levels ...