A practical guide to neonatal volume guarantee ventilation

A recent systematic review and meta-analysis shows that volume-targeted ventilation (VTV) compared with pressure-limited ventilation (PLV) reduce death and bronchopulmonary dysplasia, pneumothorax, hypocarbia and severe cranial ultrasound abnormalities. In this paper, we present published research and our experience with volume guarantee (VG) ventilation, a VTV mode available on the Dräger Babylog 8000plus and VN500 ventilators. The VG algorithm measures the expired tidal volume (VT) for each inflation and adjusts the peak inflating pressure for the next inflation to deliver a VT set by the clinician. The advantage of controlling expired VT is that this is less influenced by endotracheal tube leak than inspired VT. VG ventilation can be used with an endotracheal tube leak up to ∼50%. Initial set VT for infants with respiratory distress syndrome should be 4.0 to 5.0 ml kg−1. The set VT should be adjusted to maintain normocapnoea. Setting the peak inflating pressure limit well above the working pressure is important to enable the ventilator to deliver the set VT, and to avoid frequent alarms. This paper provides a practical guide on how to use VG ventilation.