Pressure-Regulated Volume Control and Pressure-Control Ventilation Modes in Pediatric Acute Respiratory Failure

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study is to present our experience using the pressure-regulated volume control and the pressure-control ventilation modes in children. Methods: Patients with acute respiratory failure ventilated with pressure-regulated volume control or pressure-control modes were retrospec-tively evaluated. The patient’s ventilation parameters (of the first 7 days of ventilation or of the whole ventilation period, if the patient had been ventilated less than 7 days), SpO2, blood gases, and demographic data were collected from the pediatric intensive care unit database. Results: Sixty-one patients (median age 12 [4.8-36.4] months) were enrolled in the study. The pressure-control ventilation mode was used on 40 patients (65.6%) and the pressure-regulated volume-control mode was used on 21 (34.4%) patients. Twenty-eight patients (45.9%) had hypoxemic respiratory failure and 44 (72.1%) had hypercapnic respiratory failure. The median positive end-expiratory pressure was higher in pressure-control ventilation mode (5.4 [4.2-6.3] cmH2 O) than the pressure-regulated volume-control mode (4.05 [3.68-4.41] H2 O, P