Teresa A Volsko MHHS RRT FAARC, Kathy Fedor RRT-NPS, Jason Amadei RRT, and Robert L Chatburn MHHS RRT-NPS FAARC BACKGROUND: Limited data are available to describe the CPAP effects that can be expected when using high flow with a traditional nasal cannula. OBJECTIVE: To describe the relationship between the pressure generated at the airway opening and flow through a nasal cannula using a simulated infant model. We hypothesized that positive pressure generated by a standard cannula at flows > 2 L/min would be minimal and clinically unimportant. METHODS: Nares were simulated with holes drilled in a plastic fixture. A nares template for CPAP prongs served as a sizing template for the holes. Small, medium, and large nares fixtures were constructed and connected to a lung simulator that simulated spontaneous breathing. Respiratory muscle pressure was simulated by setting a waveform and adjusting the amplitude to deliver a range of tidal volumes (V T ) from 3 mL to 12 mL. Lung compliance and resistance were set at 0.

No abstract