Vent Alarms should be Regarded as Code Blue

If you cannot instill this into your culture, patients will die

If they are crashing, do DOPES

ETCO2 on any Vented Pt

This is what the real alarm should be

High (Peak) Pressure

Dyssynchrony

Peak Only

Check the circuit fluid pooling in circuit fluid pooling in filter kinking of circuit

Tube too small or biofilmed

Bronchospasm

Biting on ETT



Peak & Plat High

Tube in Mainstem

Pneumothorax

Bad Lungs >> Turn down the Vt

Abd Compartment

Low Peak Pressure

Disconnect

ETT Cuff Deflated

Pt effort

Low Ve/Vt

Cuff Issues (See EMCrit Wee )

(See EMCrit Wee ) Bronchopleural Fistula

Low O2 Alarm

Not hooked Up

Gases Messed Up

Sensor Messed up

What to Do with Continued Alarms Despite Sedation, Equipment Check, Suctioning

Consider Bronchoscopic Assessment

If Patient begins to crash, consider tube exchange if bronch not available

Breakdown on Alarm Types

Article on Vent Alarm Stats 1

See More

High-Peak on ALIEM

1. Anesth Analg. September 2018. PubMed] Cvach M, Stokes J, Manzoor S, et al. Ventilator Alarms in Intensive Care Units: Frequency, Duration, Priority, and Relationship to Ventilator Parameters.. September 2018.