|
|
Liquid Lung Ventilation
Anyone who has seen the movie "The Abyss," has wondered about 'breathing' liquid instead of air. What was once science fiction is now reality.
Liquid lung ventilation is a type of ventilation that has been under experimentation since the 1960's. It serves as an alternative to gas ventilation for several reasons;
- To help avoid barotrauma to lung tissue by increasing compliance
- To recruit alveoli which will increase total lung volume
- Decreases ventilation/perfusion mismatch
Liquid lung ventilation can be used for several pulmonary disorders such as, Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), Meconium Aspiration, Infant Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS), Gastric-Acid Aspiration, Drowning, Foreign Body Aspiration, and Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia. Liquid ventilation at one time was only used as a "last resort" kind of treatment. Before modern advancements it had little success when used in the clinical setting. Today it is being used earlier in the disease process leading to more positive outcomes.
