Patients who undergo major chest and abdominal surgeries that are critically ill have a high tendency for suffering from difficulties in breathing, and often they need to be supported with Mechanical Ventilation (MV).
MV can be life-saving for these patients, but on the other hand, it can also be harmful to the patient as continued MV and sedation interrupt the normal activation of the diaphragm muscle. It has long been found out that disuse of the diaphragm leads to muscle atrophy very rapidly and profoundly (50% of muscles in as early as 48 hours), a condition known as Ventilator Induced Diaphragm Dysfunction; VIDD. In addition, positive-pressure invasive ventilation can damage the lungs (Ventilator Induced Lung Injury; VILI) and is associated with Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia (VAP).
VIDD, VILI and VAP are key contributing factors to the frequent difficulty in weaning patients from the ventilator. About 31% of patients on MV are categorized as 'difficult to wean' and approximately 10% require prolonged weaning periods greater than seven days. These patients alone account for 40% of total ICU patient-days and become the most expensive in-patients in North American hospitals. When a critically ill patient becomes ventilator-dependent, the risk of dying in the ICU increases seven-fold.
The new device, TransAeris, which has been approved already for use in Europe, can help keep such patients off mechanical ventilation. This ca be applied to surgeries such as
High risk cardiac procedures, Upper abdominal procedures, Lung transplants, Abdominal aortic aneurism repairs, and complex open surgeries lasting more than two hours.
Post-surgicallyi n the ICU if the risk of prolonged MV is confirmed then start TransAeris stimulation tp preserve diaphragm function and prevent VIDD.
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