Mechanical ventilation is a life-critical intervention provided to patients in a wide variety of clinical settings, involving the careful interplay of physiology, pathology, physics and technology. This unique text explains the underlying physiological and technical concepts of ventilation, aided by numerous full colour diagrams, and places these concepts into clinical context with practical examples. Core Topics in Mechanical Ventilation provides a broad and in-depth coverage of key topics encountered in clinical practice, from the initial assessment of the patient to transportation of the ventilated patient and weaning from ventilation. Issues such as sedation, analgesia and paralysis and the management of complications are reviewed, along with a discussion of various ventilation modes and practical advice on patients with pre-existing diseases. Appealing to doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and paramedics, this book is applicable to a wide range of settings including intensive care, anaesthesia, respiratory medicine, acute medicine and emergency medicine.

Clear explanations of physiological, pathological and physical principles without an assumption of specialist knowledge Liberal use of full colour annotated diagrams and figures to assist in the understanding of more complex material Extensive glossary explains complex terms and allows the cross-referencing of multiple terms, which are a common source of confusion

Contents
Contributors; Foreword Timothy W. Evans; Preface; Introductory notes; 1. Physiology of ventilation and gas exchange Hugh Montgomery; 2. Assessing the need for ventilatory support Mick Nielsen and Iain Mackenzie; 3. Oxygen therapy, continuous positive airway pressure and non-invasive ventilation Ian Clement, Leigh Mansfield and Simon Baudouin; 4. Management of the artificial airway Peter Youn and Iain Mackenzie; 5. Modes of mechanical ventilation Peter Macnaughton and Iain Mackenzie; 6. Oxygenation Bill Tunnicliffe and Sanjoy Shah; 7. Carbon dioxide clearance Brian Keogh and Simon Finney; 8. Sedation, paralysis and analgesia Russell R. Miller III and E. Wesley Ely; 9. Nutrition in the mechanically ventilated patient Clare Reid; 10. Mechanical ventilation of the patient with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease David Tuxen and Matthew T. Naughton; 11. Mechanical ventilation in patients with blast, burn and chest trauma injuries William T. McBrid and Barry McGrattan; 12. Ventilatory support: extreme solutions Alain Vuylsteke; 13. Heliox in airway obstruction and mechanical ventilation Hubert Trübel; 14. Adverse effects and complications of mechanical ventilation Iain Mackenzie and Peter Young; 15. Mechanical ventilation on the move Terry Martin; 16. Special considerations in infants and children Rob Ross-Russell and Natalie Yeaney; 17. Tracheostomy Abhiram Mallick, Andrew Bodenham and Iain Mackenzie; 18. Weaning, extubation and de-cannulation Iain Mackenzie; 19. Long-term mechanical ventilation Craig Davidson; 20. The history of mechanical ventilation Iain Mackenzie; Glossary; Index.