A Simple Procedure to Measure the Tidal Volume Delivered by Mechanical Ventilators: A Tool for Bedside Verification and Quality Control

Abstract

Mechanical ventilation is the most extensively employed life support intervention among patients with severe respiratory fail ure of different etiologies. In this context, consistent delivery of the most suitable tidal volume (VT) to the patientis criticalto achieving personalized mechanical ventilation. Indeed, in addition to its con tribution to minute volume for optimization of blood gas exchange,appropriate VT strategies are critical to avoid ventilator-induced lung injury in the general context of lung-protective ventilation and when specifically applying ultra-low tidal volume ventilation. Additionally, VT is required to compute respiratory system com pliance or ventilatory ratio, useful indices in the classification of patient phenotype and estimation of prognosis.