Initiation of the Neurally Adjusted Ventilatory Assist Mode in the Neonatal Period in Iran

New neonatal respirators are developed with advances in medicine. These devices are synchronized with the patient’s respiratory efforts. The ideal synchronized breath should be synchronous with initiation, size, and termination of the breath without delay in detection of the initial respiratory effort by the device. The synchrony of respiration contributes to effective ventilation, and therefore, increases tidal volume and diminishes complications. Neutrally adjusted ventilatory assist (NAVA) has emerged as an innovative technology, which gives the patient full control of timing and performance of the respiratory cycle of mechanical ventilator breath without gross delay. The electrical activity of the diaphragm (Edi) signal is filtered, amplified, digitalized, and then transmitted to the ventilator unit, where it serves as a novel trigger for the mechanical breath. The ventilator assists the spontaneous breath by delivering a proportional pressure on a breath-by-breath basis. Then, the synchrony of mechanical respiration with patient respiration contributes to effective ventilation, enhanced tidal volume, and reduced complications. In so doing, weaning is easier and quicker. In this study, we aimed to review the first neonate in Iran who received this method of respiratory assistance and was weaned easily in the neonatal intensive care unit of Children’s Medical Center of Tehran.