BACKGROUND Recent investigations underscore the critical importance of ventilation strategies on resuscitation outcomes. In low perfusion states, such as cardiac arrest and traumatic shock, the rise in intrathoracic pressure that accompanies positive-pressure ventilation can significantly impede venous return and lead to a decrease in cardiac output. The optimal ventilation strategy in these "l...

OBJECTIVES Nasal continuous positive airway pressure is used as a standard of care after extubation in very-low-birth-weight infants. A pressure of 5 cmH2O is usually applied regardless of individual differences in lung compliance. Current methods for evaluation of lung compliance and air distribution in the lungs are thus imprecise for preterm infants. This study used electrical impedance tomo...

option in the management of patients who are at risk of or have respiratory failure in the acute care setting. Over the past two decades, the use of noninvasive positivepressure ventilation and of noninvasive continuous positive airway pressure by mask has in creased tremendously among acutely ill patients. Initial case series and uncontrolled cohort studies that suggested benefit in selected p...

The occurrence of postoperative pulmonary complications is strongly associated with increased hospital mortality and prolonged postoperative hospital stays. Although protective lung ventilation is commonly used in the intensive care unit, low tidal volume ventilation in the operating room is not a routine strategy. Low tidal volume ventilation, moderate positive end-expiratory pressure, and rep...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW There has recently been renewed interest in the chest wall during mechanical ventilation, related to lung-protective ventilation strategies, as well as in the role of abdominal pressure in many facets of critical illness. The purpose of this review is to address relevant issues related to the chest wall and mechanical ventilation, particularly in patients with acute lung injur...

In a patient with lobar atelectasis who was on positive pressure ventilatory support, ventilation and perfusion images showed absent ventilation and normal perfusion (reverse mismatch) in the region of the atelectasis and normal ventilation and decreased perfusion (true mismatch) not caused by pulmonary embolism in another lung zone. We report this case to emphasize that the lung scan findings ...

Mechanical ventilation is undoubtedly a lifesaving procedure for patients with acute respiratory failure [1]. Unfortunately the procedure is also associated with a number of unwanted side-effects. Firstly, until recently, mechanical ventilation required endotracheal intubation either through a tracheostomy or with a translaryngeal tube, procedures which can carry some risks [2, 3]. Secondly, by...

Although neonatal nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) is widely used today, its place in neonatal respiratory support is yet to be fully defined. Current evidence indicates that NIPPV after extubation of very premature infants reduces the rate of reintubation. However, much is still not known about NIPPV including its mechanisms of action. It may improve pulmonary mechanism...