Association of alveolar recruitment maneuvers and prone position in acute respiratory disease syndrome patients.

The acute respiratory distress syndrome is the clinical presentation of acute lung injury characterized by diffuse alveolar damage and development of non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema due to increased pulmonary alveolar-capillary membrane permeability. Alveolar recruitment maneuvers and prone position can be used in the treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome. The objective of this review of literature was to identify possible benefits, indications, complications and care of the associated recruitment maneuvers and prone position for treatment of the acute respiratory distress syndrome. This national and international scientific literature review was developed according to the established criteria for searching the databases MedLine, LILACS, SciElo, PubMed, Cochrane, from 1994 to 2008 in Portuguese and English, with the key words: acute respiratory distress syndrome, alveolar recruitment maneuver and prone position. Despite advances in the understanding of acute respiratory distress syndrome pathophysiology, mortality is still expressive. Alveolar recruitment maneuvers and prone position significantly contribute to treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome patient aiming to improve oxygenation and minimizing complications of refractory hypoxemia and reduction of pulmonary compliance. However,as there are few studies in literature associating alveolar recruitment maneuvers and prone position for treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome, additional research and evidences of clinical application are required.