High-frequency oscillatory ventilation combined with intermittent mandatory ventilation in critically ill neonates and infants.

Abstract

We have evaluated the high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) combined with intermittent mandatory ventilation (IMV) in critically ill neonates and infants using the Babylog 8000 SW 4.0. We used HFOV combined with IMV as a rescue mode in 10 neonates and infants aged 1 day to 17 months, who were receiving maximal conventional ventilation for severe respiratory failure. There was a significant reduction in inspired oxygen requirement when starting HFOV combined with intermittent mandatory ventilation (IMV), from a baseline mean of 0.90 (CI95 0.79-1.01) to 0.55 (CI95 0.40-0.71) at 6h and 0.44 (CI95 0.37-0.52) at 12h. There was also an overall improvement in gas exchange with complete haemodynamic stability. These data suggest that HFOV-IMV mode offers significant improvement as a rescue mode for neonates and infants with severe respiratory failure.