Postoperative Respiratory Management in Pediatric Cardiac Surgical Patients

Abstract

Any respiratory disorder, even the mild forms, could affect the health state of any human being. This is why respiratory care is considered an ingredient part of care in every patient, and this is undoubtedly much more important in patients with congenital heart disease. In this chapter, the principles of respiratory care in the postoperative period in congenital heart disease patients are discussed with the following subtitles: “How does the pediatric patient differ from the adult patient?,” “Principles and Goals of mechanical ventilation in the postoperative period,” “Ventilation considerations specific for congenital heart patient,” Strategies for ventilation and ventilator modes,” “Readiness for extubation and extubation failure,” “Non-invasive ventilation, i.e. NIPPV—RAM cannula, nCPAP, High flow nasal cannula, etc.,” and “Miscellaneous issues, including Extra-corporeal CO2 removal (ECCO2R), High-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV), Inhalational routes of drug delivery, Chest physiotherapy, Chronic respiratory failure, and tracheostomy.”