title: Toward a better ventilation strategy for patients with acute lung injury.
abstract: Ventilator-induced lung injury is a major outcome determinant of the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Ventilatory strategies that limit ventilator-induced lung injury should improve outcome from ARDS. The ARDSnet trial showed improved survival in subjects ventilated with a lower tidal volume. Although this trial developed and tested a rigorous clinical protocol, it did not define the limits to which tidal volume reduction would benefit outcome. It is also not at all clear if it is the reduction in tidal volume or the reduction in plateau airway pressure that confers this benefit. Finally, ventilator-induced lung injury occurs more commonly from repetitive collapse and re-expansion of injured lung units rather than from the overdistention of persistently aerated lung units. This was not addressed in the trial design. Thus, further study using targeted open-lung strategies are also needed.
authors.affiliation: Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Pinsky
mesh_terms: D000403:Airway Resistance; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D012107:Research Design; D012121:Respiration, Artificial / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods*; D012128:Respiratory Distress Syndrome / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013990:Tidal Volume; D016896:Treatment Outcome