Tracheal gas insufflation apparatus. Performance of a novel phase-specific device.

Tracheal gas insufflation is a technique in which gas is injected intratracheally during positive pressure ventilation. The fresh gas rinses expired gas from the tracheal tube and anatomical dead space, aiding carbon dioxide elimination. This reduces ventilatory volume and pressure, helping to reduce ventilator-induced lung damage. Complications of tracheal gas insufflation include interference with ventilator function, tracheal damage and barotrauma. Expiratory washout is a variation of tracheal gas insufflation. We designed and constructed an original expiratory washout system and evaluated its safety and performance in lung and animal models. We found that expiratory limb and tracheal tube occlusion tests caused the device to disable itself at acceptable intratracheal pressures. We also demonstrated up to 31% reduction in tidal volume compared with conventional ventilation, supporting the possibility of using this device clinically to lessen volutrauma. We concluded that aspects of this design might alleviate many of the safety concerns of using tracheal gas insufflation.