A Computer Program to Assist in the Care of Acute Respiratory Failure

Abstract

A computer program has been developed to give management guidelines in the care of patients suffering from acute respiratory failure. These guidelines are based upon the clinical experience of the Respiratory Care Unit of the Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Anesthesiology. The program operates on a typewriter-like terminal connected through telephone lines to a remote computer. Information about the patient, his respiratory functions, and arterial blood gases is entered through a dialogue between the user and the computer. The computer carries out calculations of a number of derived variables and prints out a summary of the current respiratory profile of the patient. In addition, the computer prints out a detailed interpretation in narrative form of the overall respiratory status of the patient under consideration.