Aerosol Delivery Using Jet Nebulizer and Vibrating Mesh Nebulizer During High Frequency Oscillatory Ventilation: An In Vitro Comparison

High frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) is used in critically ill patients with severe hypoxemic respiratory failure. The purpose of this in vitro study was to determine the efficiency of aerosol delivery with different lung parameters during simulated neonatal, pediatric, and adult HFOV. Sensormedics 3100A/B ventilators were used to deliver infant, pediatric, and adult HFOV. Two types of aerosol generators were chosen for testing: 1) a continuous jet nebulizer (JN) with a unit-dose of 5.0 mg/2.5 mL salbutamol sulfate diluted into 4 mL, and 2) a vibrating mesh nebulizer (VMN) with salbutamol sulfate were run to completion of aerosol generation. Both aerosol devices were placed 1) between the ventilator circuit and the endotracheal tube (ETT) (proximal position); and 2) at the inlet of the heated humidifier (distal position) (n = 5). Drug was collected on a bacterial filter placed distal to the ETT, and the drug eluted and analyzed with a UV Spectrophotometer at 276 nm. T- test and ANOVA tests were used for comparison (p