title: Neurally adjusted ventilatory assist: a new approach to mechanically ventilated infants.
abstract: Neurally adjusted ventilator assist (NAVA) is a new mode of partial ventilatory support, in which neural inspiratory activity is monitored through the continuous esophageal recording of the electrical activity of the diaphragm. Assistance is triggered and cycled off in according to this signal and is delivered in proportion to its intensity. NAVA can improve patient-ventilator synchrony while maintaining spontaneous breathing. Small preliminary studies have shown that NAVA can be successfully used also in term and preterm infants, being safe and well tolerated. However, much additional work is still needed before NAVA can be recommended in the everyday practice of the neonatologist.
authors.affiliation: Neonatal and Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata, Verona, Italy. paolo.biban@ospedaleuniverona.it
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Biban
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Serra
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Polese
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Soffiati
authors.forename: Pierantonio
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Santuz
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000502:physiology; D015931:Intensive Care, Neonatal / Q000379:methods; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000379:methods; D012121:Respiration, Artificial / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D015656:Respiratory Mechanics / Q000502:physiology; D012122:Ventilators, Mechanical