Background: Previous studies have shown that progesterone increases the ventilatory performance in healthy individuals and in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorders. The study was designed to investigate the effect of a single intramuscular administration of progesterone on ventilatory performance in adult trauma patients during partial support mechanical ventilation. Methods: Fo...

Airway pressure-release ventilation (APRV) is a mechanical ventilation strategy that is usually time-triggered but can be patient-triggered, pressure-limited, and time-cycled. APRV provides 2 levels of airway pressure (P(high) and P(low)) during 2 time periods (T(high) and T(low)), both set by the clinician. APRV usually involves a long T(high) and a short T(low). APRV uses an active exhalation...

Cardiopulmonary interactions or effects of spontaneous and mechanical ventilation (MV) were first documented in the year 1733. Stephen Hales showed that the blood pressure of healthy individual fell during spontaneous inspiration and he later went on to discover the ventilator. A year later Kussmaul described pulsus paradoxus (inspiratory absence of radial pulse) in patients with tubercular per...

Airway pressure release ventilation (APRV) is inverse ratio, pressure controlled, intermittent mandatory ventilation with unrestricted spontaneous breathing. It is based on the principle of open lung approach. It has many purported advantages over conventional ventilation, including alveolar recruitment, improved oxygenation, preservation of spontaneous breathing, improved hemodynamics, and po...

OXYGEN consumption (V̇O2) of respiratory muscles during mechanical ventilation is usually computed as the difference between V̇O2 during controlled ventilation and V̇O2 during spontaneous ventilation. This method, though, is unpractical and sometimes even impossible. In a study published in this issue of ANESTHESIOLOGY, Bellani et al. used another interesting approach to evaluate the value of V̇O2 ...

OBJECTIVE To compare pressure-support ventilation with spontaneous breathing through a T-tube for interrupting invasive mechanical ventilation in patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. METHODS Adults of both genders were randomly allocated to 30 minutes of either pressure-support ventilation or spontaneous ventilation with "T-tube" before extubation. Manovacuometry, ...

PURPOSE Right internal jugular vein (RIJV) catheterisation is a common procedure in patients undergoing surgery. We aimed to compare diameters and the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the RIJV when the head is in a neutral or 30-degree rotated position during mechanical ventilation in various modes and spontaneous ventilation. METHODS Thirty patients undergoing surgery were included in the study...

variability of tidal volume and respiratory rate in normally breathing man has long been demonstrated [1]. however because of lack of knowledge and technology primary ventilators could only deliver a fixed tidal volume in a fixed rate the so called volume controlled ventilation (vcv). vcv was volume preset time triggered and cycled and there was no synchronization with patient’s breaths. at tha...

We summarize all original research in the field of respiratory intensive care medicine published in 2005 in Critical Care. Twenty-seven articles were grouped into the following categories and subcategories to facilitate rapid overview: mechanical ventilation (physiology, spontaneous breathing during mechanical ventilation, high frequency oscillatory ventilation, side effects of mechanical venti...

BACKGROUND An unanticipated difficult airway may arise during rapid sequence induction and intubation (RSII). The aim of the trial was to assess how rapidly spontaneous ventilation could be re-established after RSII. We hypothesized that the time period from tracheal intubation to spontaneous ventilation would be shorter with rocuronium-sugammadex than with succinylcholine. METHODS This rando...