Positive End-Expiratory Pressure improves Gas Exchange and Pulmonary Mechanics during Partial Liquid Ventilation

摘要

Partial liquid ventilation(PLV) with perflubron(PFB) has been proposed as an adjunct to the current therapies for the acute respiratory distress syndrome(ARDS). Because PFB has been also referred to as "liquid PEEP", distributing to the most gravity-dependent regions of the lung, less attention has been paid to the amount of applied positive end-expiratory pressure(PEEP). We hypothesized that higher PEEP levels than currently applied are needed to optimize gas exchange, and that the lower inflection point(LIP) of the pressure-volume curve could be used to estimate the amount of PEEP needed when the lung is filled with PFB.