by Keyword: Ventilators
Farre, R., Navajas, D., (2009). Quality control: A necessary, but sometimes overlooked, tool for improving respiratory medicine European Respiratory Journal 33, (4), 722-723
The importance of quality control in both general and respiratory medicine has increased in parallel with the complexity of healthcare provision. Only a few decades ago, the respiratory physician and/or scientist had a very limited number of diagnostic and therapeutic tools available and, moreover, medical practice was based almost exclusively on the personal interaction between doctor and patient. Consequently, at that time the quality of the respiratory healthcare depended entirely on the professional competence of the doctor. Although nowadays the relationship between physician and patient undoubtedly still lies at the heart of respiratory medical practice, the quality of the medical service received by the patient also depends on many other participants in a complex healthcare network: various medical specialists, lung function technicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, social workers and administrative staff. Accordingly, several quality control programmes are applied in order to avoid, or at least to reduce, errors in diagnosis, improper performance of procedures, errors in medication, and failure to supervise or monitor care or recognise complications associated with treatment
JTD Keywords: Airway pressure devices, Clinical-trial, Standardization, Spirometry, Lung, Home, Ventilators, Publication, Performance, Technology
Orini, Michele, Giraldo, Beatriz F., Bailon, Raquel, Vallverdu, Montserrat, Mainardi, Luca, Benito, Salvador, Diaz, Ivan, Caminal, Pere, (2008). Time-frequency analysis of cardiac and respiratory parameters for the prediction of ventilator weaning IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society Conference Proceedings 
30th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (ed. IEEE), IEEE (Vancouver, Canada) 1-8, 2793-2796
Mechanical ventilators are used to provide life support in patients with respiratory failure. Assessing autonomic control during the ventilator weaning provides information about physiopathological imbalances. Autonomic parameters can be derived and used to predict success in discontinuing from the mechanical support. Time-frequency analysis is used to derive cardiac and respiratory parameters, as well as their evolution in time, during ventilator weaning in 130 patients. Statistically significant differences have been observed in autonomic parameters between patients who are considered ready for spontaneous breathing and patients who are not. A classification based on respiratory frequency, heart rate and heart rate variability spectral components has been proposed and has been able to correctly classify more than 80% of the cases.
JTD Keywords: Automatic Data Processing, Databases, Factual, Electrocardiography, Humans, Models, Statistical, Respiration, Respiration, Artificial, Respiratory Insufficiency, Respiratory Mechanics, Respiratory Muscles, Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted, Time Factors, Ventilator Weaning, Ventilators, Mechanical, Work of Breathing
