Report on the Effect of Leakage on Inhaled Oxygen Concentration in Combined Ventilator and Oxygen Therapy at Home

Abstract

The introduction of home mechanical ventilation (HMV) or home oxygen therapy (HOT) for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been shown to improve patient outcomes and shorten hospital stays. Despite this, COPD deaths continue to increase worldwide, and there is room for improvement in the treatment of COPD at home. Maintaining fraction of inspiratory oxygen (FiO₂) may increase the effectiveness of treatment. However, previous studies have shown when HOT was used in combination with HMV, FiO₂ decreased due to leakage from the gap between the patient’s face and non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) mask. The latest HMV model, VOCSN (Ventec Life Systems, Inc.), is now being used in clinical practice as the newest ventilator model with HOT in HMV. In this study, experiments were conducted using the two types of ventilator circuits used in the VOCSN, but no statistically significant differences were found between them. We report on basic experiments conducted to investigate whether the VOCSN can maintain FiO₂ without being affected by leaks or ventilation volume compared to previous studies.