Respiratory Rate Question

[PaytonA]

When you say "hitch in flow" are you talking about the small hitches during exhale that are on most of the curves or are you talking about big hitches like the one at 23:57:00? This is very interesting. Wish I had the extra data the S9s have.

Thanks a bunch for the info.

Best Regards,

PaytonA

[justMongo]

The little hitches trigger IPAP as seen in the high rate pressure data.
My machine is saying that my BPM is double based on that trigger.

Yes, it does appear that near the end of that minute I am taking a double breath.
I selected that minute at random. Most of my double rate period is like those in the early seconds of that minute.

I wouldn't try to tune out that double trigger -- it's not really an issue. I'm just trying to point out that I believe your double BPM is an artifact of how your machine switches between IPAP and EPAP and back.

I would be nice if you had an S9 VPAP Auto as it can run as high as 25 cm-H2O like your S8.
Plus it write the high rate data to an SD card.

[Peter_C]

Need to see your bilevel pressure graph and high rate flow. I have similar rate periods; and when I look at the pressure and rate data, I see a trigger to IPAP that should not have occurred. It probably could be tuned out with the trigger sensitivity or Ti(min) and/or Ti(max.) In my opinion it does not hurt anything. But the approximate 2X normal rate is actually false.

I am using an S8 VPAP Auto 25 in spontaneous mode. IPAP was 20, EPAP was 15. There is no pressure chart and the S8 doesn't give a high rate flow chart.

The trigger sensitivity is set to med and Ti(max) and Ti(min) are set to factory defaults-2.0 and 0.3 seconds respectively. If I remember correctly, I woke up that morning with the VPAP cycling fairly rapidly and continuously from IPAP to EPAP and it would not follow my breath. I could breathe faster or slower than the machine but it kept up its same cyclic rate.

Best Regards,

PaytonA

Same exact machine being used by me since new. I find the need to do a hard-reset (unplug for a bit) when this exact same thing happens to me (rarely), or when it blows max pressure (mask on or off) for no reason - I assume mine is just getting tired and a bit goofy.

The IPAP/EPAP fast-switching (to me) is a clue that the machine has forgotten it's job - no weirdness on my part before or after this happens (it wakes me randomly) doing 'stuff'...

[PaytonA]

I am using an S8 VPAP Auto 25 in spontaneous mode. IPAP was 20, EPAP was 15. There is no pressure chart and the S8 doesn't give a high rate flow chart.

The trigger sensitivity is set to med and Ti(max) and Ti(min) are set to factory defaults-2.0 and 0.3 seconds respectively. If I remember correctly, I woke up that morning with the VPAP cycling fairly rapidly and continuously from IPAP to EPAP and it would not follow my breath. I could breathe faster or slower than the machine but it kept up its same cyclic rate.

Best Regards,

PaytonA

Same exact machine being used by me since new. I find the need to do a hard-reset (unplug for a bit) when this exact same thing happens to me (rarely), or when it blows max pressure (mask on or off) for no reason - I assume mine is just getting tired and a bit goofy.

The IPAP/EPAP fast-switching (to me) is a clue that the machine has forgotten it's job - no weirdness on my part before or after this happens (it wakes me randomly) doing 'stuff'...

I actually got rid of the "fast switching" a while ago but I guess it has come back. I found that my Ti(max) and Ti(min) settings made no sense (idiot RT). I talked to someone at Resmed USA and they had me reset it to the factory defaults, which is where it still is. That made the fast switching go away up until now.

I did a hard reset the morning after the charts that posted. The next day was better and no rapid cycling. The second day after I was back to the rapid cycling when I woke up in the morning.

Thanks for the input.

PaytonA

[Peter_C]

Hmm - thought mine was slowly dying, but it goes 1-3 weeks between weirdness events happen - other than it restarts now almost every time I insert a data card.

[PaytonA]

I do not know if it will last but last night I had no respiratory spikes all night. I did another hard reset and put a new filter in my VPAP. I only changed the filter because I checked it and it looked like it needed changing.

[PaytonA]

Example of double trigger. A one minute slice just before local midnight. The little "hitch" in flow triggers IPAP and doubles the scored BPM (BPM not shown.)

What do you think causes that hitch in your flow and pressure. Do you think it is your breathing or might it be the machine itself causing that and then counting it also?

[jaycee]

I'm not used to looking at the flow patters in Sleepyhead, but spent years looking at the same flow patterns on a ventilator.

That "hitch", as you call it, shouldn't be there. It would be one of your "additional settings" (not basic pressure settings) that would need to be adjusted to hopefully help that go away.

What do you have the "additional settings" at ??

[PaytonA]

Following are the additional settings:

Ti(max)-2.0
Ti(min)-0.3
Rise Time=700ms
Trigger=med
Cycle=med

These are all factory default settings I believe except the rise time. I just found out that the rise time factory default is 150ms and I just double checked the actual setting to make sure that I had not mis-read it.

[PaytonA]

The additional settings are as follows:

Ti(max)=2.0
Ti(min)=0.3
Rise time=700ms
Trigger=med
Cycle=med

With the exception of the rise time they are the factory default settings. The rise time was set to 700ms when i received the machine The factory default is 150ms.

The flow and pressure charts are not mine. My S8 Vauto does not record flow and I use it in Spontaneous mode so no pressure charts. The charts were provided by justMongo who said that he gets this type of waveform during the time that he has respiratory rate spikes. he feels that the machine ( his is an S9 Vauto) is double counting the breaths due to the "hitches" and it looks like a possibility to me also.

Best Regards,

PaytonA

Sorry. Somehow I double entered this response.