use standard trigger and high cycle sensitivity for COPD patients
- related: COPD chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- tags: #pulmonology
Explanation: Standard trigger sensitivity is typically sufficient for COPD patients. It ensures that the machine detects the patient's respiratory effort without being too sensitive, which could lead to unnecessary breaths triggered by small, ineffective efforts. COPD patients often have air trapping and increased work of breathing, so avoiding excessive sensitivity helps reduce the chance of false triggering.
High cycle sensitivity ensures that the ventilator cycles from inspiration to expiration as soon as a decrease in inspiratory flow is detected. This is beneficial for COPD patients who may have difficulty exhaling completely due to airflow obstruction. High sensitivity ensures the machine does not prolong the inspiratory phase unnecessarily, reducing the risk of dynamic hyperinflation and air trapping, which are common in COPD.1