Intensive care ventilators are used to provide ventilatory support for patients who cannot breathe on their own or who require assistance to maintain adequate ventilation. Patients ventilated by these devices can range in age from neonates to adults and can vary in condition from very critical, unstable patients to relatively stable postoperative patients. While intensive care ventilators are typically used in critical care areas of the hospital, they may be used in other care areas as well. In this study, we evaluated seven ventilators specified for intensive care applications. Four of the evaluated models offer the full variety of features needed to make a unit appropriate for a broad range of intensive care applications--for example, they offer both volume- and pressure-controlled modes of ventilation. We labeled these models comprehensive-capability units. The remaining three units lacked certain features, such as a pressure-controlled mode of ventilation, that limited their suitability for some applications. We labeled these models limited-capability units and rated them separately from the comprehensive-capability units. Although some users may find that a limited-capability unit can meet their needs, we believe that most facilities will want to select a ventilator from the more comprehensive category. We used the same ratings rationale for both categories of units, focusing largely on performance (e.g., accuracy, functionality) and safety considerations for adult and pediatric intensive care applications. We also considered ease of use, quality of construction, and reliability. For several of the evaluated units, we identified significant safety shortcomings that prevented us from rating the units Acceptable. In each of the two categories, we rated one unit Conditionally Acceptable and one unit Conditionally Acceptable--Not Recommended.
重症监护呼吸机用于为无法自主呼吸或需要辅助以维持足够通气的患者提供通气支持。使用这些设备进行通气的患者年龄范围从新生儿到成人，病情也各不相同，从病情非常危急、不稳定的患者到相对稳定的术后患者。虽然重症监护呼吸机通常用于医院的重症监护区域，但也可能用于其他护理区域。在本研究中，我们评估了七款指定用于重症监护应用的呼吸机。所评估的型号中有四款具备使设备适用于广泛重症监护应用所需的全部功能——例如，它们既提供容积控制通气模式，也提供压力控制通气模式。我们将这些型号标记为综合能力型设备。其余三款设备缺乏某些功能，如压力控制通气模式，这限制了它们对某些应用的适用性。我们将这些型号标记为有限能力型设备，并与综合能力型设备分开评级。尽管一些用户可能会发现有限能力型设备能够满足他们的需求，但我们认为大多数机构会希望从更具综合性的类别中选择呼吸机。我们对这两类设备使用相同的评级标准，主要侧重于性能（如准确性、功能性）以及成人和儿科重症监护应用中的安全考量。我们还考虑了易用性、构造质量和可靠性。对于几款被评估的设备，我们发现了严重的安全缺陷，因此无法将这些设备评为“可接受”。在这两类设备中，我们将一款设备评为“有条件可接受”，另一款设备评为“有条件可接受——不推荐”。
