Intensive care physicians at Alasya Hospital trained in mechanical ventilation

Intensive care professionals from Alasia Hospital participated in a mechanical ventilation workshop led by Analía Fernández (MN 90301), member of the Argentine Society of Intensive Care and Intensive Care Worker at Durand Hospital in Buenos Aires. They have learned from the local hospital that training is the key to the formation and continuous growth of their staff, which is why they celebrate each such event as it benefits the whole community.

In a conversation with El Litoral, Dr. Analía Fernández explained that mechanical ventilation is a technique that assists respiratory function. “Lungs, as we know, are vital for supplying our body with oxygen, and in addition, they eliminate a metabolic product gas called carbon dioxide. Our entire body needs oxygen to survive, and the air we breathe contains only 21 percent of your breath is oxygen,” he said.

He continued: “For example, when the lungs are affected by a viral respiratory infection (called bronchiolitis), pneumonia, bronchospasm, two things happen: The inflated muscles in the lungs are so complex that they don’t have enough strength to get air into these diseased lungs.”

In other words, when a child has a condition such as bronchiolitis, bronchospasm, pneumonia, etc., the lungs become hardened so that they cannot be filled with air. In this case, his breathing was very difficult and he had a hard time breathing.

When a child is being treated for respiratory failure, the doctor may decide to assist him with mechanical ventilation, which is putting him on a ventilator that takes over the function of the breathing muscles that cannot inflate these lungs, but also allows oxygen to be blown in. into the lungs. The amount is greater, higher than that found in the air, thus ensuring better delivery of oxygen to the blood.

To clarify, it may not be just a respiratory infection that leads a child to use a respirator, there may be other reasons for doing so. Among them, if you are in a coma due to severe brain lesions, so the brain cannot control the breathing function, or when the child is anesthetized for surgery, the breathing function is also required.

Is mechanical ventilation the difference between life and death? El Litoral asked intensive care doctor Analía Fernández. His response: “Without a doubt. Oxygen is necessary for life, and sometimes using this technology can help save lives.”

Because this is an evolving technology and practice, experts came to Santa Fe for a session on the latest advances in mechanical ventilation. The problem is that there are different ways, some of which are less invasive than others.

“In some cases, less severe cases, we can use a ventilator, which supplies air through a mask that covers the nose and mouth. In other cases, more severe cases, the child needs to be sedated and ventilated. “…through a tube that connects the ventilator to the lungs,” Fernandez explained. “Technological advances not only allow us to have increasingly sophisticated ventilators, but also allow us to better understand the disease. Therefore, medicine, especially intensive care medicine, requires us to carry out long-term training. There is a need for training to be awarded permanently to all professionals working in multidisciplinary medical teams working in intensive care units”.

In this sense, Alasya Hospital is a center that actively promotes the training of personnel and provides care to patients based on the best available medical evidence.