Basic Ventilator Graphics in the NICU: A Practical Overview

Mechanical ventilation remains a cornerstone of neonatal intensive care, particularly for premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome. While blood gas analysis and radiographs provide clinical information, ventilator pulmonary graphics offer continuous, noninvasive insights into respiratory mechanics. Modern ventilators generate real-time data that help clinicians assess lung compliance, airway resistance, and patient-ventilator synchrony. Pressure-volume and flow-volume loops provide visual cues for detecting changes in compliance, air leaks, secretions, overdistension, air trapping, and autocycling. Understanding these graphical patterns supports individualized ventilator adjustments and early recognition of evolving pulmonary pathology. In this review, we provide clinicians in the neonatal intensive care unit with a toolbox to help analyze ventilator graphics in mechanically ventilated infants.