Apnea Alarm Troubleshooting

Apnea activates when VOCSN has not delivered assist or spontaneous breaths (or coughs) for the set Apnea alarm duration.

Follow these steps to troubleshoot this alarm:

1. Ensure the Apnea alarm is set appropriately given the patient’s Breath Rate and spontaneous rate.
2. Ensure the Flow Trigger control is set appropriately.
3. Check the patient triggered icon and waveforms to determine if the patient is attempting to initiate breaths. (If the patient is not initiating breaths, the alarm is working as intended.)
4. Check for problems with patient triggering, such as low drive due to medication, copious secretions, or excessive mask or cuff leak.
5. For Active circuits, turn on Leak Compensation if needed. 
6. If the problem persists, replace the circuit.