Our hope is to make newborns in the NICU as comfortable as possible. However, routine care including mechanical ventilation can often be uncomfortable.([FOOTNOTE=De Lima J, Carmo KB. Practical pain management in the neonate. Best Pract Res Clin Anaesthesiol. 2010;24(3):291-307.],[ANCHOR=View Abstract],[LINK=/content/covidien/websites/medtronic/com/en/covidien/support/clinical-evidence.html?id=804955])^,([FOOTNOTE=Simons SH, van Dijk M, Anand KS, Roofthooft D, van Lingen RA, Tibboel D. Do we still hurt newborn babies? A prospective study of procedural pain and analgesia in neonates. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2003;157(11):1058-1064.],[ANCHOR=View Abstract],[LINK=/content/covidien/websites/medtronic/com/en/covidien/support/clinical-evidence.html?id=804949])^,([FOOTNOTE=Bellù R, de Waal KA, Zanini R. Opioids for neonates receiving mechanical ventilation. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008;23;(1):CD004212.],[ANCHOR=View Abstract],[LINK=/content/covidien/websites/medtronic/com/en/covidien/support/clinical-evidence.html?id=804952])

The newborn’s comfort level may be improved by reducing the time on mechanical ventilation or avoiding intubation.¹ One of the major challenges to patient’s tolerance of both noninvasive and invasive mechanical ventilation is often the presence of an airway leak.([FOOTNOTE=Vignaux L, Vargas F, Roeseler J, et al. Patient-ventilator asynchrony during non-invasive ventilation for acute respiratory failure: A multicenter study. Intensive Care Med. 2009;35(5):840-846.],[ANCHOR=View Abstract],[LINK=/content/covidien/websites/medtronic/com/en/covidien/support/clinical-evidence.html?id=603142])^,([FOOTNOTE=Mahmoud RA, Proquitté H, Fawzy N, Bührer C, Schmalisch G. Tracheal tube airleak in clinical practice and impact on tidal volume measurement in ventilated neonates. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2011;12(2):197-202.],[ANCHOR=View Abstract],[LINK=/content/covidien/websites/medtronic/com/en/covidien/support/clinical-evidence.html?id=805248])^,([FOOTNOTE=Main E, Castle R, Stocks J, James I, Hatch D. The influence of endotracheal tube leak on the assessment of respiratory function in ventilated children. Intensive Care Med. 2001;27(11):1788-1797.],[ANCHOR=View Abstract],[LINK=/content/covidien/websites/medtronic/com/en/covidien/support/clinical-evidence.html?id=805243])^,([FOOTNOTE=Berstein G, Knodel E, Heldt G. Airway leak size in neonates and autocycling of three flow-triggered ventilators. Crit Care Med.1995;23(10):1739-1744.],[ANCHOR=View Abstract],[LINK=/content/covidien/websites/medtronic/com/en/covidien/support/clinical-evidence.html?id=805239]) A leak can interfere with the ventilator’s ability to track the patient’s spontaneous breathing efforts. This in turn leads to asynchrony between the patient’s spontaneous breathing efforts and the ventilator’s response, increasing the work of breathing and potentially increasing the duration of mechanical ventilation. Puritan Bennett™ Leak Compensation software can help clinicians overcome the challenges of leakage and of maintaining synchrony during either invasive or noninvasive ventilation.([FOOTNOTE=Oto J, Chenelle CT, Marchese AD, Kacmarek RM. A comparison of leak compensation in acute care ventilators during noninvasive and invasive ventilation: a lung model study. Respir Care. 2013 Dec;58(12):2027-37.],[ANCHOR=View Abstract],[LINK=/content/covidien/websites/medtronic/com/en/covidien/support/clinical-evidence.html?id=720870])

*Note to patients: All devices shown here are prescription products and must be obtained from a licensed provider or physician. Patients cannot purchase these devices directly from Medtronic.