Ventilation Index (VI)
Ventilation index (VI = respiratory rate × peak inspiratory pressure × PaCO₂ / 1000): a bedside marker of ventilatory burden; higher values track mortality and extubation-failure risk.
Open the calculator → Runs in your browser. Data leaves only if you deliberately send a problem report from the interactive tool.
Example
- Respiratory rate
- 30 breaths/min
- Peak inspiratory pressure
- 30 cmH₂O
- PaCO₂
- 50 mmHg
Result: Ventilation index 45 — markedly elevated: higher mortality / extubation-failure risk.
The tool opens with these values already filled in. Replace them with your own.
What the result means
- Meaning
- Higher = worse; tracks mortality / extubation-failure risk in pediatric respiratory failure. A PEEP-corrected variant uses (PIP − PEEP).
What you enter
- Respiratory rate
- Peak inspiratory pressure
- PaCO₂
How this is calculated
- Formula
- VI = (respiratory rate × peak inspiratory pressure × PaCO₂) / 1000.
Paret G, Ziv T, Barzilai A, et al. Ventilation index and outcome in children with acute respiratory distress syndrome. Pediatr Pulmonol. 1998;26(2):125-128. Read the source ↗
A reference and educational tool. Not medical, legal, or financial advice, and not a substitute for clinician judgment.