ABSTRACTS
Manual Ventilation Performance in First Responders Using a Flow-Limiting DeviceAuthor: Prasanna Kumar, Joseph E. Holley, Joshua M. Justice, Arthur S. Slutsky, and Mark F. Brady | | Associate Authors:
Introduction: Manual ventilation with a resuscitator bag is a basic and essential skill for first responders but performance is highly variable. Sotair is a flow-limiting valve designed to prevent peak flow from exceeding 55 L/min, thus minimizing peak pressures and tidal volumes. A limited market release of the Sotair flow-limiting valve took place in Tennessee. Objective: To evaluate manual ventilation performance in first responders using a flow-limiting device. Methods: A total of 217 providers from the city fire departments of Collierville, Bartlett, and Germantown in Tennessee participated. Providers performed 60 seconds of ventilation with a manual resuscitator bag on a simulated lung. After a brief educational intervention demonstrating how to use the Sotair flow-limiting device, providers again performed 60 seconds of manual ventilation on the simulated lung using the Sotair attached to the manual bag. Peak inspiratory pressures, tidal volumes, and respiratory rates were compared before and after the educational intervention. Results: The mean peak inspiratory pressure was lower with Sotair (15.70 cm H2O ± 1.50) compared to the bag alone (17.57 cm H2O ± 5.06) (p < .01). The mean tidal volume was also significantly lower with Sotair (525 mL ± 31) than the bag alone (594 mL ± 141) (p < .01). The mean respiratory rate with Sotair was slightly higher (11.54 breaths per minute ± 3.36) compared to bag alone (10.89 breaths per minute ± 4.91) (p = .011). Conclusion: Use of the Sotair flow-limiting device after a brief educational intervention significantly improved ventilation parameters with manual ventilation by minimizing interprovider variability.
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