Addressing Ventilator Alarms while Transporting Patients within the Hospital

Recently, a patient become disconnected from the ventilator during transport in the hospital. Though the ventilator alarmed, the transport team was not able to quickly discover the problem.

Any alarm associated with life support must be addressed in real time. With the need to wear PPE (face shields and masks) and challenges with hearing audible alarms, it is even more imperative that we visualize and react to alarms. Ventilator alarms during transport must be identified in full and corrected. All transporting members have the authority to STOP THE LINE to address alarms and assess the patient at any time during the transport. It is common for multiple alarms to alert simultaneously so identification of all active alarms is critical. 

To improve troubleshooting of the ventilator alarms:

• Position ventilator and patient monitor so the screen is always visible and within reach of transport staff
• Do not cover ventilator circuit with bedsheets or other equipment
• If unable to rectify the alarm, assess the patient and use the resuscitation bag to hand ventilate the patient to a designated location
• NOTE:  An emergency resuscitation bag should be present and available in the event of an emergency during the transport of all ventilated patients.

Trilogy Ventilator Alarm Troubleshooting Tip with Grab N’ Go Oxygen Cylinder:

Low Oxygen Inlet Pressure alarm while using 100% FiO₂ on high settings

• There is a known issue when switching the 50 PSI high pressure hose from the wall to the Grab N’ Go oxygen tank while on 100%. The LOW OXYGEN INLET PRESSURE alarm may continue to alarm even when the alarm reset button is pushed.
• To rectify the alarm, Respiratory Care Staff will momentarily drop the FiO₂ on the ventilator to a setting below 60% and then immediately turn back to 100%. See video link for a reference:  https://youtu.be/FUTfjGy9rCo