Table 1.

Technical characteristics of Ambu and Laerdal valves.

	Ambu	Laerdal
Use
Disassembly	Yes	Yes
Sterilizable	Yes	Yes
Single use	Yes	Yes
Mechanism
Orthostatic	No	No
Manual occlusion	No	No
Rebreathing principle	No	No
Insufflation resistance	Yes	No
Spring mechanism	No	No
Operate to gas pressure	Yes	Yes
Monitoring
Pressure relief valve	No (on the bag)	No (on the bag)
Direct communication risk (incoming gas/lung)	Yes	Yes
PEEP valve	Yes (adaptable)	Yes (adaptable)
Spirometry	No	Yes (adaptable)
Type
Adult	Yes	Yes
Pediatric	Yes	Yes