Identifying asynchronies: Ineffective effort

Abstract

Mechanical ventilation is a common issue in critically ill patients. It is a lifesaving treatment but also can cause some complications. Patient-ventilator asynchronies are frequent but are often underdiagnosed and they are a serious problem that is associated with worse clinical outcomes. Asynchrony occurs when there is a mismatch between the ventilator setting and the patient´s demand or breath delivery timing. There are a variety of asynchronies between the patient’s respiratory efforts and the programed ventilatory setting. Ineffective effort is a kind of asynchrony of the trigger variable. It occurs when the patient’s inspiratory effort fails to trigger a ventilator breath. Ineffective inspiratory efforts are a great problem in patient-ventilator interaction, and they are the most common type of asynchrony.