Despite advances in ventilator management, 31% to 38% of patients with adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) will die, some from progressive respiratory failure. Inability to adequately oxygenate patients with severe ARDS has prompted extensive efforts to identify what are now known as alternative modes of ventilation including high-frequency oscillatory ventilation and airway pressure rel...

In the fluid-filled lungs of early adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) the dependent parts are compressed and atelectatic; whereas, the nondependent areas remain aerated and functional. Ventilating these considerably restricted lungs carries the risk of overinflation and ventilatory-induced lung injury (baro-volutrauma). The consequences for adjusting mechanical ventilation are: 1) reduc...

In this review, we assemble the fundamental concepts of the use of mechanical ventilation (MV) in children with acute respiratory failure (ARDS) and refractory hypoxemia. We also discusses topics of protective ventilation and recruitment potential, and specifically examine the options of ventilation and/or maneuvers designed to optimize the non-aerated lung tissue: alveolar recruitment maneuver...

It has been shown that mechanical ventilation in patients with, or at high-risk for, the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) can be a double-edged sword. If the mechanical breath is improperly set, it can amplify the lung injury associated with ARDS, causing a secondary ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI). Conversely, the mechanical breath can be adjusted to minimize VIL...