CPAP Machines

Dan White says EMS providers are starting to use CPAP machines to assist patients suffering from congestive heart failure.  These CPAP machines, normally used to assist those suffering from sleep disorders, are proving effective for patients with compromised alveoli.  Here’s what the paramedics do with it:

During the inspiratory phase of respiration, oxygen-rich gas is supplied at flow rates high enough to increase airway pressure. During the expiratory phase, the patient exhales against a resistance called Positive End Expiratory Pressure (PEEP). The combination of positive inspiratory and positive expiratory pressure can help reduce the work of breathing and improve alveolar gas exchange.

Patients who receive CPAP machine treatment can show remarkable improvement.  Often they have to be intubated less and thus have shorter and safer hospital stays.  We’re used to seeing CPAP machines in the bedroom, but in the ambulance?  Who would have thought!

For more info on CPAP machines, CPAP masks, and CPAP manufacturers like EVOMedical and ProBasics, check out CPAP Mart.