Therapeutic use of helium-oxygen mixture in continuous positive airway pressure for early weaning from mechanical ventilation after cardiovascular surgery in infants.

Therapeutic use of helium-oxygen mixture in continuous positive airway pressure (He-CPAP) was employed for early weaning from mechanical ventilation of 11 infants who underwent cardiac surgery from August, 1974, to April, 1975. With the use of He-CPAP, a 20 to 30 mm. Hg elevation of PaO2 was usually observed and respiratory distress was reduced, as compared to results obtained with nitrogen-oxygen CPAP. In all cases, He-CPAP resulted in the possibility of relatively early removal of the endotracheal tube. Therefore, He-CPAP is recommendable for intermediate respiratory support between mechanical ventilation and nitrogen-oxygen CPAP.