He made it through today on the conventional ventilator. Now that he's on a different machine and may stay there for a while, the relevant numbers have also changed. We still want his blood oxygen saturation to be high, and his CO2 saturation to be low....those will determine what they do with the following ventilator settings. He's currently at 34 breaths per minute (bpm), which they have weaned down from a high of 40 just after the change this morning. His air is infused with 34% oxygen and 5% nitric oxide (down from 10% this morning). Before they would remove the ventilator completely, they would want his bpm from the machine at around 10, and his bpm (measured) at 30-40, meaning that the machine is only doing a tiny bit of the work and his body is breathing on its own in addition. The air we breathe contains 21% oxygen and 0% nitric oxide, so those would be the target values as well.
On the conventional vent, they can provide breathing treatments, which consist of an inhaled medicine similar to that in an asthmatic's inhaler. This medicine dilates the bronchial tubes in his lungs, allowing him to breathe more fully, and should be MUCH more effective now than when done on a high-frequency ventilator. He's getting a few more (small) doses of steroids, which should help with lung development and inflammation. Finally, they're continuing with Lasix to try and remove some fluid from his lungs (and body)....keeping him a little more awake and letting him wriggle occasionally may also help prevent fluid retention.
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