AVERAGE VOLUME-ASSURED PRESSURE SUPPORT

Course overview

RESPIRATORY FAILURE IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT AND COMMON CAUSES OF PATIENT ADMISSIONS TO THE INTENSIVE CARE UNIT (ICU). IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, NON-INVASIVE VENTILATION HAS GAINED INCREASED PROMINENCE IN THE MANAGEMENT OF A VARIETY OF CONDITIONS CAUSING ACUTE AS WELL AS CHRONIC RESPIRATORY FAILURE. DIFFERENT MODALITIES OF NON-INVASIVE VENTILATION EXIST, WITH CONTINUOUS POSITIVE AIRWAY PRESSURE (CPAP) AND BILEVEL POSITIVE AIRWAY PRESSURE (BIPAP) BEING THE MOST COMMONLY USED MODES. AVERAGE VOLUME-ASSURED PRESSURE SUPPORT (AVAPS) IS A RELATIVELY NEWER MODALITY OF NON-INVASIVE VENTILATION THAT INTEGRATES THE CHARACTERISTICS OF BOTH VOLUME AND PRESSURE-CONTROLLED NON-INVASIVE VENTILATION. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE UTILIZATION OF AVERAGE VOLUME-ASSURED PRESSURE SUPPORT IN THE INTENSIVE CARE UNIT AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN THE MANAGEMENT OF PATIENTS WITH RESPIRATORY FAILURE USING THIS MODALITY OF NON-INVASIVE VENTILATION.