Question

Design a concept map which is addressing the need for determining optimal treatment strategies to improve patient- ventilator interactions, decrease lung injury, and improve patient outcomes.
Hint. Search NIH grant and use concept map in your presentation

Answer 1

Breaths delivered by a mechanical ventilator can be considered as either controlled or assisted.

A controlled breath means that the machine determines the rate, the inspiratory time, and the tidal volume (VT), so the patient does no work. With controlled breaths, sedation and paralysis may be needed to suppress patient activity that might interfere with breath delivery. With assisted breaths, sedation needs may be less and patient muscle function may recover more rapidly

Optimal treatment strategies to improve patient- ventilator interactions:

Conventional ventilators today deliver 5 basic breath types

Ø The volume-control breath is time-triggered, flow-targeted, and volume-cycled.

Ø The volume-assist breath is effort-triggered, flow-targeted, and volume-cycled.

Ø The pressure-control breath is time-triggered, pressure-targeted, and time-cycled.

Ø The pressure-assist breath is effort-triggered, pressure-targeted, and time-cycled.

Ø The pressure-support breath is effort-triggered, pressure-targeted, and flow-cycled.

Optimal treatment strategies to decrease lung injury:

Mechanical ventilation (MV) is required to support respiratory function during general anesthesia as well as in critically ill patients with and without respiratory failure. However, MV itself has the potential to worsen lung injury, a phenomenon known as ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI) . Several parameters are determinants of VILI: (1) inspiratory stress, (2) dynamic strain, (3) static strain, (4) driving pressure (ΔP), (5) energy, and (6) power.

Optimal treatment strategies to improve patient outcomes:

1. Promote more well-informed diagnoses

An accurate and quick diagnosis is an essential aspect of improving patient outcomes. It is the foundation for proper treatment decisions. IT plays a significant and growing role in processing diagnosis-relevant patient information in a comprehensive and purposeful way. Modern diagnostic exams help increase diagnostic quality, thereby reducing downstream costs resulting from misdiagnoses.

2. Support optimal treatment planning

Treatment can be efficient without being effective, and vice versa. Ensuring that treatment is both efficient and effective is the hallmark of medically and economically successful healthcare providers.

3. Take good care of your clinicians

An antagonistic work atmosphere for clinicians and nurses translates into inferior outcomes for patients. Providing a supportive workplace environment leads to happier employees, which in turn yields better patient care.

4. Improve outcomes through greater transparency

To ascertain the success of improvement measures, patient outcomes must be clearly defined, reliable, and transparently evaluated. True measures of quality should reflect what matters to the patient.

5. Ensure continuity of care following discharge

The seamless flow of information along the treatment pathway is an essential component in the overall success of the treatment. Especially when it comes to hand-offs, there is often still room for improvement. It is key that hospital operators provide comprehensive, prioritized, and systematic information to subsequent treatment providers.

6. Engage and support your patients after discharge

More positive patient outcomes can be achieved if patients are actively involved in the treatment process. Clear, intelligible communication is the key to success.

7. Use connected care to support better outcomes

Modern, connected IT, as well as the use of mobile devices, can contribute enormously to advances in diagnostics and treatment. This is especially true for regions of the world that are still medically under-served.