Electrical impedance tomography reveals pathophysiology of neonatal pneumothorax during NAVA

We describe a case of a tension pneumothorax that occurred during neurally adjusted ventilatory assist (NAVA) in a preterm infant suffering from RDS. The infant was included in a multicenter study examining the role of elec trical impedance tomography (EIT) in intensive care and therefore continuously monitored with this imaging method. The attending physicians were blinded for EIT findings but offline analysis revealed the potential of EIT to clarify the underlying cause of this complication, which in this case was he terogeneous lung disease resulting in uneven ventilation distribution. Instantaneous increase in end‐expiratory lung impedance on the affected side was observed at time of the air leak. Real‐time bedside availability of EIT data could have modified the treatment decisions made.
Source: Clinical Case Reports - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: CASE REPORT Source Type: research