Determination of 'recruited volume' following a PEEP step is not a measure of lung recruitability

摘要

BackgroundIt has been proposed that the analysis of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP)-induced volume changes can quantify alveolar recruitment. The potential of a lung to be recruited is expected to be high in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), where collapsed lung tissue is very common. The volume change that is beyond the delta volume because of the patient's compliance has been termed recruited volume' (RecV). However, data of patients with low and high RecV showed less severe lung disease in high recruiters', indicating that RecV may not equal the potentially recruitable lung tissue' seen in computed tomography scans. We hypothesized that RecV is higher in lung-healthy (LH) patients with little collapsed lung compared with ARDS patients.