6.7 Volume Support Ventilation

Volume Support Ventilation is another spontaneous mode available on some ventilators. The principle of this mode is similar to that of pressure regulated volume control (PRVC). However, to use volume support, the patient must have an intact drive to breathe. With this mode, pressure support is provided with a target volume set. Based on phase variables, a volume support breath can be described as follows: patient triggered, volume targeted and flow cycled.

A Pressure Support Diagram with pressure, flow, and volume diagrams is shown. The second breath in this diagram shows how the pressure support is adjusted to meet the target volume.
Figure 6.7.1: “Pressure Support with Target Volume” by Freddy Vale, CC-BY-NC-SA

The ventilator will adjust pressure over several breaths in order to achieve the target volume set. For example, if the tidal volume measured is below the target volume set, the ventilator will increase pressure.

As with any spontaneous mode, back up ventilation must be set appropriately.

Watch this video for a review on volume support ventilation principles and settings:

 

Video: “Volume Support – Basics” By Mike’s RT [5:23] Transcript Available

 

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Breathe Easy: RT Student Resource for Mechanical Ventilation Copyright © 2023 by Fanshawe College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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