How Do I Set Up Mouthpiece Ventilation?

Mouthpiece patient circuits are recommended for use with patients at least 5 years of age, who can place their mouths on the circuit to initiate breaths on their own.

WARNING: Using a mouthpiece for Ventilation or Cough therapy is not recommended for patients <5 years of age, due to the requirements for physiological and neurological development, as well as neuromuscular coordination necessary for the application of effective therapy.

To connect a mouthpiece patient circuit to VOCSN, begin by connecting an external bacterial filter. Then, connect the Mouthpiece Circuit Kit components in the order depicted below.

To configure VOCSN for use with the Mouthpiece circuit, set the Circuit Type control to Mouthpiece, and then set other controls as appropriate for the patient.

NOTE: Because of the circuit size, set the Patient Type control to Pediatric during mouthpiece ventilation, even when VOCSN is used with an adult patient. 

Setting the Circuit Type control to Mouthpiece will limit the available ventilation modes and controls to those that are suitable for use with a mouthpiece patient circuit, as follows:

• The ventilation Mode control is limited to Spontaneous, Assist/Control-Pressure, and Assist/Control Volume.
• In Assist/Control ventilation modes, only assist breaths will be provided to the patient.
• The Breath Rate, Apnea Rate, PEEP, and Leak Compensation controls are unavailable.
• The Flow Trigger control is limited to 1 to 3 L/min
• The Patient Circuit Disconnect, Low Minute Volume, and High Minute Volume alarms are unavailable.
• The Exhaled Tidal Volume, Minute Volume, and Leak monitors are unavailable.
• The Humidification control is unavailable, because humidification is not used with mouthpiece patient circuits.

NOTE: In some cases, setting the High Pressure or Apnea alarm and using the Breath Rate monitor may help ensure patient safety.