trishkellyo

With HFOV, think of it as "CPAP with a wiggle." The "CPAP" is given with the MAP and the "wiggle" is given with the AMPs and Hz. MAP (and of course, FiO2) controls oxygenation. Increase the MAP to increase oxygenation. Amplitude (aka. DeltaP or Power) and Hz (frequency) control the amount of CO2 blown off from the lungs. To help blow off CO2, increase the AMPs or decrease the Hz. One Hz equals 60 breaths per minutes, so a Hz of 10 would be equivalent to 600 breaths per minute. The reason that decreasing Hz would help lower the CO2 is because #1 more time for exhalation and #2 more tidal volume is given to the infant. Hope this helps! Check out this link for an excellent explanation of HFOV given by a brilliant child with Tay-Sachs disease. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8C7StisDFM

The cool thing about oscillator is that even when it is paused, the infant is still getting the MAP. You don't have to worry about derecruitment unless you disconnect the infant or suction. Pausing the oscillator briefly to listen to bowel sounds is completely ok. Check out this link so you have a visual of how the oscillator works. Play close attention to the MAP measurement in the window.