Pediatric Mechanical Ventilation: What Are Those Bells and Whistles

Activity Summary

Required reading for all learners: Implicit Bias impacts patient outcomes

Critical care nurses play a crucial role in the management of intubated and mechanically ventilated children in the intensive care unit (ICU). Effective and safe care of a mechanically ventilated child requires an extensive understanding of modes of ventilation, ventilator settings and patient-ventilator interactions. Recognizing signs and symptoms of patient-ventilator asynchrony is vital to achieving efficient ventilation, managing patient discomfort, ensuring appropriate use of narcotics and sedatives and effectively navigating through the weaning process. The session provides an in-depth review of mechanical ventilators and discusses strategies to better identify and troubleshoot ventilator-patient asynchrony to improve patient outcomes. Case studies are used to apply knowledge gained from the discussion.

Objectives

Distinguish among common modes of ventilation and discuss appropriate ventilator settings using examples from clinical cases.
Analyze key components of patient-ventilator synchrony and differentiate ventilator-related patient discomfort from other sources.
Identify strategies to promote timely and safe liberation from mechanical ventilation.

Continuing Education Disclosure Statement

Successful Completion

Learners must attend/view/read the entire activity and complete the associated evaluation to be awarded the contact hours or CERP. No partial credit will be awarded.

Disclosure

This activity has been reviewed by the Nurse Planner. It has been determined that the material presented here shows no bias. No conflicts of interest have been identified for any individual with the ability to influence the content of this activity. Accreditation refers to recognition of continuing education only and does not imply AACN or ANCC approval or endorsement of any commercial products discussed or displayed in conjunction with this educational activity.

Accreditation

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's (ANCC's) Commission on Accreditation, ANCC Provider Number 0012. AACN has been approved as a provider of continuing education in nursing by the California State Board of Nursing (CBRN), California Provider number CEP 1036. This activity is approved for 1.25 contact hours.

AACN programming meets the standards for most states that require mandatory continuing education contact hours for license and/or certification renewal. AACN recommends consulting with your state board of nursing or credentialing organization before submitting CE to fulfill continuing education requirements.