During mechanical ventilation for acute respiratory distress syndrome, tidal volume (V(T)) must be reduced. Once switched to pressure-support ventilation, there is a risk that uncontrolled large V(T) may be delivered. A 63-year-old man with community-acquired pneumonia required tracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation, with a V(T) of 6 mL/kg predicted body weight, PEEP of 10 cm H2O, a res...

Most patients undergoing surgical procedures need to be mechanically ventilated, because of the impact of several drugs administered at induction and during maintenance of general anaesthesia on respiratory function. Optimization of intraoperative mechanical ventilation can reduce the incidence of post-operative pulmonary complications and improve the patient's outcome. Preoxygenation at induct...

In seven postoperative patients with normal preoperative pulmonary function tests, we evaluated the oxygen cost of breathing (VO2resp) during continuous positive pressure ventilation (CPAP) and during a 15 cm H2O inspiratory pressure support ventilation (IPSV). For both periods, VO2 resp was estimated as the difference between total oxygen uptake of the period (VO2tot), measured by a mass-spect...

Mechanical ventilation is associated with increased survival of preterm infants but is also associated with an increased incidence of chronic lung disease (bronchopulmonary dysplasia) in survivors. Nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) is a form of noninvasive ventilation that reduces the need for mechanical ventilation and decreases the combined outcome of death or bronchopulmonary...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the feasibility of negative extrathoracic pressure ventilation as a respiratory support following phrenic nerve palsy after cardiac surgery. DESIGN An uncontrolled pilot study. PATIENTS 14 patients aged one week to 30 months (median 5.3 months) with phrenic nerve palsy diagnosed by phrenic nerve conduction tests and diaphragmatic electromyograms. Four had bilateral ...

PURPOSE Low tidal volume ventilation improves the outcomes of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). However, no studies have investigated the use of a rescue therapy involving mechanical ventilation when low tidal volume ventilation cannot maintain homeostasis. Inverse ratio ventilation (IRV) is one candidate for such rescue therapy, but the roles and effects of IRV as a rescue therapy re...

BACKGROUND Although evaluation of cardiac output by the partial carbon dioxide rebreathing technique is as accurate as thermodilution techniques under controlled mechanical ventilation, it is less accurate at low tidal volume. It is not clear whether reduced accuracy is due to low tidal volume or low minute ventilation. The effect of spontaneous breathing on the accuracy of partial carbon dioxi...