In the FOAM community a great deal of time is spent discussing the appropriate manner of transitioning critically ill patients onto mechanical ventilation. A far larger portion of the practice of critical care is spent determining how best to liberate our patients from the ventilatory shackles with which we have bound them. The specifics of […]
CC Nerd-The Case of the Inverted Premise
No mode of ventilation is burdened with more emotional baggage than airway pressure release ventilation (APRV). The mere suggestion of its use is met with either the delight of recognizing an old friend whom you are meeting for the first time, or the type of disgust typically reserved for the likes of snake oil salesmen. […]
The Case of an Ugly Truth
The great tragedy of Science — the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact. […]
EMCrit Podcast 19 – Non-Invasive Ventilation
Intubation is a sexy procedure, there is no doubt about it.
NIV does not have the glamour; it’s not nearly as cinematic. But for the patient, to spend 30 minutes on a NIV mask is preferable to a couple of days on the ventilator. In this episode, I discuss some of the basic ideas and methods of NIV.