Liquid ventilation is, by all initial considerations, an unconventional concept. Decades of research, however, have found that by using perfluorocarbons, which are capable of holding high concentrations of critical gases such as oxygen and carbon dioxide, gas exchange optimal enough to support life is possible with no known toxic effects. The earliest method of liquid ventilation, tidal liquid breathing, involved infusion and active removal of tidal volumes of perfluorocarbons by a liquid ventilator for gas exchange. Recently, a new method of partial liquid breathing, called perfluorocarbon-associated gas exchange, makes the process of liquid ventilation simpler by using conventional gas ventilators. Current research is showing great promise in the use of liquid ventilation for patients with pulmonary pathology. Critical care nurses should become knowledgeable of this new mode of ventilation and be prepared to meet the special needs of this unique population
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1 August 1994
Pediatric and Neonatal Critical Care|
August 01 1994
Liquid Ventilation: It’s Not Science Fiction Anymore
M. K. Gaedeke Norris, RN, MSN, CCRN, CS;
*From the Department of Pediatric Critical Care, Children’s Hospital of Buffalo, Buffalo, New York.
Reprint requests to M. K. Gaedeke Norris, RN, MSN, CCRN, CS, Clinical Nurse Specialist/Nurse Practitioner, Pediatric Critical Care, Children’s Hospital of Buffalo, 219 Bryant Street, Buffalo, NY 14222.
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Bradley P. Fuhrman, MD, FCCM;
Bradley P. Fuhrman, MD, FCCM
*From the Department of Pediatric Critical Care, Children’s Hospital of Buffalo, Buffalo, New York.
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Corinne Lowe Leach, MD, PhD, FAAP
Corinne Lowe Leach, MD, PhD, FAAP
†From the Department of Neonatal Intensive Care, Children’s Hospital of Buffalo, Buffalo, New York.
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AACN Adv Crit Care (1994) 5 (3): 246–254.
Citation
M. K. Gaedeke Norris, Bradley P. Fuhrman, Corinne Lowe Leach; Liquid Ventilation: It’s Not Science Fiction Anymore. AACN Adv Crit Care 1 August 1994; 5 (3): 246–254. doi: https://doi.org/10.4037/15597768-1994-3004
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