title: Inappropriate ventilator triggering caused by an in-line suction catheter.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the phenomenon of inappropriate triggering caused by an in-line suction catheter.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used a test lung to assess inappropriate triggering in four ventilators with both pressure and flow triggering.
  
  
  RESULTS
  With pressure triggering, inappropriate triggering occurred only in the presence of PEEP. However, with flow triggering, inappropriate triggering occurred both with and without PEEP. Inappropriate triggering did not occur in a model of severe airflow obstruction.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In-line suction catheters may lead to inappropriate triggering and potentially dangerous increases in delivered ventilation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, One Medical Center Drive, Lebanon, NH 03756-0001, USA.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Khafaji
authors.forename: Harold L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Manning
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D004868:Equipment Failure; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung; D008953:Models, Anatomic; D011175:Positive-Pressure Respiration; D012121:Respiration, Artificial; D013396:Suction / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012122:Ventilators, Mechanical