Research Article | Original Research Shared Ventilation in the Era of COVID-19: A Theoretical Consideration of the Dangers and Potential Solutions https://doi.org/10.4187/respcare.07919 Cite as: RESPCARE 2020; 10.4187/respcare.07919 Received: 7 April 2020 Accepted: 22 April 2020 This Fast Track article has been peer-reviewed and accepted, but has not been through the composition and copyediting processes. The final version may differ slightly in style or formatting and will contain links to any supplemental data. Alerts: Sign up at rc.rcjournal.com/alerts to receive customized email alerts when the fully formatted version of this article is published. Page 1 of 50 Respiratory Care Shared Ventilation in the Era of COVID-19: A Theoretical Consideration of the Dangers and Potential Solutions Jacob Herrmann, PhD1,3 Andrea Fonseca da Cruz, PhD2 Monica L Hawley, PhD3 Richard D Branson, MSc, RRT, FAARC4 David W Kaczka, MD, PhD3,5 1Department of Biomedical Engineering Boston University Boston, MA, USA 2Department of Anesthesia University of Iowa Iowa City, IA, USA 3OscillaVent, Inc. Iowa City, IA, USA 4Division of Trauma and Critical Care Department of Surgery University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, OH, USA 5Departments of Anesthesia, Biomedical Engineering, and Radiology University of Iowa Iowa City, IA, USA Author Contributions: Literature search, Analysis of data, Review of manuscript: JH, AFC, RDB, MLH, DWK. Study design, Data collection, Manuscript preparation: JH, AFC, MLH, DWK. Industry Relationships: DK: ZOLL Medical Corporation and Monitor Mask, Inc. RDB: Mallinckrodt, Ventec Life Systems, and ZOLL Medical Corporation David W. Kaczka, MD, Ph.D. The University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics Department of Anesthesia 200 Hawkins Drive Iowa City, IA 52242 Email:
[email protected] 1 Respiratory Care Page 2 of 50 QUICK LOOK Current Knowledge: A single mechanical ventilator can support multiple patients connected in parallel as a last resort for increasing surge capacity.