Posted this on politics but it faded without a good answer.


Could a CPAP machine act as a crude ventilator?

other thread said not in a clinical / hospital situation might be of some benefit if you are home and showing minor symptoms

sam callahan said:

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Posted this on politics but it faded without a good answer.


Could a CPAP machine act as a crude ventilator?

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No. It's not a ventilator. Ventilator actually expands/decompresses your lungs. I use a CPAP - I'm still breathing on my own.

Also, a good time to remind everyone to make sure to keep your CPAP sanitized and use distilled water. Those things are highly effective in what they do but they are also a case of pneumonia waiting to happen.

Moxley said:

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Also, a good time to remind everyone to make sure to keep your CPAP sanitized and use distilled water. Those things are highly effective in what they do but they are also a case of pneumonia waiting to happen.

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This!!! I am not the best at cleaning mine but thankfully I bought the SoClean and installed an RO/DI system so I should be good.

No it cannot. But the tubing/connector for a CPAP could hook up to a ETT. Modern ventilators do have BIPAP/CPAP modes - mainly for weaning trials/mechanisms. CPAP and BIPAP are just air pressure - CPAP a single pressure, (known as EPAP or PEEP on a vent). BIPAP has an IPAP (known as PSV on a vent) and an EPAP. CPAP/BIPAP for out pt purposes are used to treat OSA- as a pneumatic splint to the soft palate. BIPAP is used in the hospital for acute respiratory failure and a backup resp rate can be added. This is known as non invasive ventilation (NIV). It is contraindicated in COVID sick pt because it aerosolizes the virus.

Ventilators, on the other had, are more complex machines. They all contain various different modes that can be used depending in the patient's needs. Overly simplified common modes include assist control (AC) in which these parameters are set: volume of breath (tidal volume), resp rate, FIO2 (% O2 up to 100% (21% sea level on room air), PEEP (pos end expiratory pressure) and the flow rate and contour of the breath. Pressure and I:E ratio are variables in AC modes. Another common mode is pressure control (PC) in which these parameters are set: pressure of the breath, resp rate, FIO2, I:E ratio and peep. Volume and flow rate are variables in this mode. Another weaning mode for less sick patients is SIMV (similar to AC but allows the patient to breath spontaneously with no ventilator triggering.)

There are more elegant modes with complex settings. Many of these are used to limit lung damage in ARDS pts like COVID-19.