In case no one has informed you, now there is a new hope for patients with respiratory failure in their own home. In past days, typical patients with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) who saved CO 2 (carbon dioxide) had little choice but to go to the emergency room and get hospitalized; usually in the intensive care unit. Mechanical ventilation or some other type of assistive breathing device would be used to help control their carbon dioxide levels, and they would be sent home only to repeat this process in a few days.
Now, thanks to Phillips / Respironics and your local durable medical equipment company (DME) --- you have a new version. The device is called a trilogy and works like a fan, but it does it non-invasively. This means that no tube should be placed in the trachea, and the device can be used with a mask similar to CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) or BiLevel. This means that the patient’s comfort level increases significantly, and they can also breathe much more easily.
Recently, I told the patient, “This has changed my life. In fact, I think it saved my life, because before I use it, I can never get enough air. ” Reviews such as this one are numerous, and those of us who work in the medical field have the right to hear them. Making changes in a person’s life and taking care of problems are some of the main reasons why most of us are in the medical field.
On the technical side, Philips / Respironics Trilogy can be used both invasively and non-invasively, and the controls and parameters are configured in much the same way as hospital fans. Ventilation modes: VC, PC, AC, SIMV and BiPAP S, T or S / T. You can set Tidal Volumes, Frequency, Inspiratory Time, choose between the Square and Ramp shapes and include all the bells and whistles that are typical of most vents. The advantage for someone demanding control over their CO2 retention is that the device can not only control tidal volume, but also maintains pressure in the AVAPS setup, which makes the device easier to breathe than a standard Bilevel device.
If you are a patient, you have a family member who you think will win or be a lawyer for a patient suffering from respiratory failure, and feel that Trilogy will benefit, talk with your doctor, case manager or medical equipment company and help to someone who "Seems to be out of breath," finally breathing easier.
