title: Prone position in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome.
abstract: Acute respiratory distress syndrome occupies a great deal of attention in intensive care units. Despite ample knowledge of the physiopathology of this syndrome, the focus in intensive care units consists mostly of life-supporting treatment and avoidance of the side effects of invasive treatments. Although great advances in mechanical ventilation have occurred in the past 20 years, with a significant impact on mortality, the incidence continues to be high. Patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome, especially the most severe cases, often present with refractory hypoxemia due to shunt, which can require additional treatments beyond mechanical ventilation, among which is mechanical ventilation in the prone position. This method, first recommended to improve oxygenation in 1974, can be easily implemented in any intensive care unit with trained personnel. Prone position has extremely robust bibliographic support. Various randomized clinical studies have demonstrated the effect of prone decubitus on the oxygenation of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome measured in terms of the PaO2/FiO2 ratio, including its effects on increasing patient survival. The members of the Respiratory Therapists Committee of the Sociedad Argentina de Terapia Intensiva performed a narrative review with the objective of discovering the available evidence related to the implementation of prone position, changes produced in the respiratory system due to the application of this maneuver, and its impact on mortality. Finally, guidelines are suggested for decision-making.
authors.affiliation: Comité de Kinesiología Intensivista, Sociedad Argentina de Terapia Intensiva - Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.|Centro de Educación Médica e Investigaciones Clínicas - CEMIC - Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Mariano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Setten
authors.affiliation: Comité de Kinesiología Intensivista, Sociedad Argentina de Terapia Intensiva - Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.|Sanatorio Anchorena - Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Gustavo Adrián
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Plotnikow
authors.affiliation: Comité de Kinesiología Intensivista, Sociedad Argentina de Terapia Intensiva - Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.|Hospital de Quemados - Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.|Sanatorio Mater Dei - Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Matías
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Accoce
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism; D056888:Patient Positioning; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D016684:Prone Position; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012121:Respiration, Artificial / Q000379:methods*; D012128:Respiratory Distress Syndrome / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen