Breath of Fresh Air: Our Evaluation of 10 Intensive Care Ventilators

December 1, 2011 | Evaluations & Guidance

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Intensive care ventilators provide temporary support for critically ill patients who require total or partial assistance to maintain adequate ventilation. They deliver positive-pressure breaths to the lungs to support gas exchange, to open or maintain ventilation of the alveoli, and to relieve the ventilatory muscles until the patient is able to safely resume adequate spontaneous ventilation. Intensive care ventilators have a greater complement of features than other types of ventilators (e.g., transport).

In this Evaluation, we look at 10 units from six manufacturers. Our ratings are based, in part, on several advanced features that may help improve the clinician’s ability to effectively ventilate patients and to wean them from mechanical ventilation. For example, a number of these newer advanced features automate ventilation parameters to help wean patients more effectively. Some units also have advanced graphical features that allow numerical data to be displayed in a graphical way that makes it easier for clinicians to see the patient’s status at a glance. We also based our ratings on how clearly the units indicate alarm settings as well as the fact that alarms have been disabled.

In assessing these units’ advanced ventilation features, we have taken into account the extent to which those features have been documented as providing positive clinical outcomes (particularly in independent peer-reviewed articles). We also solicited comments from clinicians. Note that clinician preferences may influence the extent to which specific advanced ventilation features and graphical presentations will be used clinically. In many cases, advanced ventilation features are optional, and cost saving can be achieved either by avoiding or delaying the purchase of options without a clear constituency or by purchasing another model altogether (i.e., one that does not offer features that clinicians do not need or want).

This Evaluation covers the following units:

Three of these units—the Draeger Evita Infinity V500, the Hamilton Medical Hamilton-C2, and the Hamilton Medical Hamilton-G5—are newly evaluated for this issue. The other units were covered in our March 2009 Evaluation, except for the Hamilton Medical Galileo, which appeared in our December 2002 Evaluation.

The main difference between the four-star and three-star units is that the three-star units (1) don’t offer advanced graphical features, (2) lack evidence demonstrating clinical benefit of their advanced ventilation features, and/or (3) do not display on the primary screen the alarm limits or an indication of when alarms are disabled.

Draeger Evita Infinity V500

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