Performance of the universal portable anesthesia complete vaporizer with mechanical ventilation in both drawover and pushover configurations.

Currently, a mechanical ventilator that can be adapted to the Universal Portable Anesthesia Complete (UPAC) vaporizer and anesthetic delivery system does not exist. The need for the anesthetist to concentrate on drug delivery and fluid resuscitation for the combat casualty in the field setting provides an expedient for the adaptation of a ventilator to the UPAC system. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the performance of the UPAC vaporizer was significantly altered when mechanical ventilation was provided in a drawover versus a pushover configuration, and to provide vaporizer performance curves for ventilatory parameters common for mechanical ventilation. The Ohio V5A and Lifecare PLV-100 ventilators were used in controlled benchwork analysis. The results of the comparison between the two ventilators indicated that there was no significant difference in vaporizer output between drawover and pushover configurations. The data indicated that vaporizer output could be reliably predicted in either mode and was correlated with tidal volume and respiratory rate.