Alveolar recruitment can be predicted from airway pressure-lung volume loops: an experimental study in a porcine acute lung injury model

摘要

IntroductionSimple methods to predict the effect of lung recruitment maneuvers (LRMs) in acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) are lacking. It has previously been found that a static pressure–volume (PV) loop could indicate the increase in lung volume induced by positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) in ARDS. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that in ALI (1) the difference in lung volume (ΔV) at a specific airway pressure (10 cmH2O was chosen in this test) obtained from the limbs of a PV loop agree with the increase in end-expiratory lung volume (ΔEELV) by an LRM at a specific PEEP (10 cmH2O), and (2) the maximal relative vertical (volume) difference between the limbs (maximal hysteresis/total lung capacity (MH/TLC)) could predict the changes in respiratory compliance (Crs), EELV and partial pressures of arterial O2 and CO2 (PaO2 and PaCO2, respectively) by an LRM.