title: Proportional assist ventilation in infants.
abstract: Proportional assist ventilation and respiratory mechanical unloading is a new mode of respiratory assistance that produces similar gas exchange with lower airway pressures than conventional ventilation in infants. This is achieved by tailoring the ventilator pressure contour to the specific derangements in lung mechanics and by a near perfect synchronization with the infant's own inspiratory effort. In contrast to conventional ventilation, PAV only amplifies the effect on ventilation of the spontaneous respiratory effort and relies on the subject's respiratory control. Whether PAV will reduce the incidence of acute complications and chronic pulmonary sequelae in infants needs to be evaluated in randomized controlled trials.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neonatology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Klinikum Grosshadern, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schulze
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bancalari
mesh_terms: D000403:Airway Resistance; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008170:Lung Compliance; D012121:Respiration, Artificial / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D015656:Respiratory Mechanics; D013990:Tidal Volume