Respiratory Mechanics in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: A Quality Improvement Based Registry Project

Introduction The amount of pathophysiological impairment in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is variable and applying the same ventilator regimen to every patient is questionable. Monitoring of respiratory mechanics for the lung and chest wall allows an individualization of ventilator settings with a potential benefit for the patient. A registry with a large sample size will elicit helpful epidemiological information and may inform future recommendations. We therefore proposed a quality improvement (QI) program constituted by systematic assessment of respiratory mechanics and gas exchange response. The collected data are then introduced into a registry. We report here the preliminary results.