Mechanical Ventilation: Physiology and Practice

Mechanical ventilation is an essential life-sustaining therapy for many critically-ill patients. As technology has evolved, clinicians have been presented with an increasing number of ventilator options as well as an ever-expanding and confusing list of terms, abbreviations, and acronyms. Unfortunately, this has made it extremely difficult for clinicians at all levels of training to truly understand mechanical ventilation and to optimally manage patients with respiratory failure. Mechanical Ventilation was written to address these problems. This handbook provides students, residents, fellows, and practicing physicians with a clear explanation of essential physiology, terms and acronyms, and ventilator modes and breath types. It describes how mechanical ventilators work and explains clearly and concisely how to write ventilator orders, how to manage patients with many different causes of respiratory failure, how to "wean" patients from the ventilator, and much more. Mechanical Ventilation is meant to be carried and used at the bedside and to allow everyone who cares for critically-ill patients to master this essential therapy.

About the Author

Dr. John W. Kreit is professor of medicine and anesthesiology in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. His career has been devoted to the education of students, residents, and fellows. He is the former director of the fellowship training program in pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and was the recipient of the 2015 Outstanding Educator Award from the American Thoracic Society.