Background Traditional approaches to mechanical ventilation use tidal volumes of 10 to 15 ml per kilogram of body weight and may cause stretch-induced lung injury in patients with acute lung injury and the acute respiratory distress syndrome. We therefore conducted a trial to determine whether ventilation with lower tidal volumes would improve the clinical outcomes in these patients. Methods Patients with acute lung injury and the acute respiratory distress syndrome were enrolled in a multicenter, randomized trial. The trial compared traditional ventilation treatment, which involved an initial tidal volume of 12 ml per kilogram of predicted body weight and an airway pressure measured after a 0.5-second pause at the end of inspiration (plateau pressure) of 50 cm of water or less, with ventilation with a lower tidal volume, which involved an initial tidal volume of 6 ml per kilogram of predicted body weight and a plateau pressure of 30 cm of water or less. The primary outcomes were death before a patient was discharged home and was breathing without assistance and the number of days without ventilator use from day 1 to day 28. Results The trial was stopped after the enrollment of 861 patients because mortality was lower in the group treated with lower tidal volumes than in the group treated with traditional tidal volumes (31.0 percent vs. 39.8 percent, P=0.007), and the number of days without ventilator use during the first 28 days after randomization was greater in this group (mean [+/-SD], 12+/-11 vs. 10+/-11; P=0.007). The mean tidal volumes on days 1 to 3 were 6.2+/-0.8 and 11.8+/-0.8 ml per kilogram of predicted body weight (P Conclusions In patients with acute lung injury and the acute respiratory distress syndrome, mechanical ventilation with a lower tidal volume than is traditionally used results in decreased mortality and increases the number of days without ventilator use.

Ventilation with lower tidal volumes as compared with traditional tidal volumes for acute lung injury and the acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Background In patients with the acute respiratory distress syndrome, massive alveolar collapse and cyclic lung reopening and overdistention during mechanical ventilation may perpetuate alveolar injury. We determined whether a ventilatory strategy designed to minimize such lung injuries could reduce not only pulmonary complications but also mortality at 28 days in patients with the acute respiratory distress syndrome. Methods We randomly assigned 53 patients with early acute respiratory distress syndrome (including 28 described previously), all of whom were receiving identical hemodynamic and general support, to conventional or protective mechanical ventilation. Conventional ventilation was based on the strategy of maintaining the lowest positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) for acceptable oxygenation, with a tidal volume of 12 ml per kilogram of body weight and normal arterial carbon dioxide levels (35 to 38 mm Hg). Protective ventilation involved end-expiratory pressures above the lower inflection poin...

https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM199802053380602

Effect of a Protective-Ventilation Strategy on Mortality in the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Introduction: Ventilator-induced Lung Injury: Not Only Air Leaks Ventilation-induced Pulmonary Edema and Related Findings: A Historical Perspective Ventilation-induced Pulmonary Edema: Hydrostatic or Permeability Edema? Experimental Evidence for Increased Vascular Transmural Pressure Evidence for Alterations in Alveolar–Capillary Permeability Contributions of the Static and Dynamic Lung Volume Components to Ventilator-induced Edema High-volume Lung Edema Low Lung Volume Injury Effects of High-volume Ventilation on Abnormal Lungs Effects of High-volume Ventilation on Injured Lungs Interaction between Severe Alveolar Flooding and Mechanical Ventilation Effects of Resting the Lung on Ventilator-induced Lung Injury Possible Mechanisms of Ventilation-induced Lung Injury Mechanisms of Increased Vascular Transmural Pressure Mechanisms of Altered Permeability Clinical Relevance

Ventilator-induced lung injury: lessons from experimental studies.

The members of the Writing Committee background Most patients requiring mechanical ventilation for acute lung injury and the acute res- piratory distress syndrome (ARDS) receive positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) of 5 to 12 cm of water. Higher PEEP levels may improve oxygenation and reduce ven- tilator-induced lung injury but may also cause circulatory depression and lung injury from overdistention. We conducted this trial to compare the effects of higher and lower PEEP levels on clinical outcomes in these patients. methods We randomly assigned 549 patients with acute lung injury and ARDS to receive me- chanical ventilation with either lower or higher PEEP levels, which were set according to different tables of predetermined combinations of PEEP and fraction of inspired oxygen. results Mean (±SD) PEEP values on days 1 through 4 were 8.3±3.2 cm of water in the lower- PEEP group and 13.2±3.5 cm of water in the higher-PEEP group (P<0.001). The rates of death before hospital discharge were 24.9 percent and 27.5 percent, respectively (P=0.48; 95 percent confidence interval for the difference between groups, -10.0 to 4.7 percent). From day 1 to day 28, breathing was unassisted for a mean of 14.5±10.4 days in the lower-PEEP group and 13.8±10.6 days in the higher-PEEP group (P = 0.50). conclusions These results suggest that in patients with acute lung injury and ARDS who receive me- chanical ventilation with a tidal-volume goal of 6 ml per kilogram of predicted body weight and an end-inspiratory plateau-pressure limit of 30 cm of water, clinical out- comes are similar whether lower or higher PEEP levels are used.

Higher versus Lower Positive End-Expiratory Pressures in Patients with the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Acute lung injury in humans is characterized histopathologically by neutrophilic alveolitis, injury of the alveolar epithelium and endothelium, hyaline membrane formation, and microvascular thrombi. Different animal models of experimental lung injury have been used to investigate mechanisms of lung injury. Most are based on reproducing in animals known risk factors for ARDS, such as sepsis, lipid embolism secondary to bone fracture, acid aspiration, ischemia-reperfusion of pulmonary or distal vascular beds, and other clinical risks. However, none of these models fully reproduces the features of human lung injury. The goal of this review is to summarize the strengths and weaknesses of existing models of lung injury. We review the specific features of human ARDS that should be modeled in experimental lung injury and then discuss specific characteristics of animal species that may affect the pulmonary host response to noxious stimuli. We emphasize those models of lung injury that are based on reproducing risk factors for human ARDS in animals and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each model and the extent to which each model reproduces human ARDS. The present review will help guide investigators in the design and interpretation of animal studies of acute lung injury.

Animal models of acute lung injury.

We have explored adverse pulmonary effects of mechanical ventilation at a peak inspiratory pressure of 30 cmH2O in paralyzed and anesthetized healthy sheep. A control group of eight sheep (group A) was mechanically ventilated with 40% oxygen at a tidal volume of 10 ml/kg, a frequency of 15 breaths/min, a peak inspiratory pressure less than 18 cmH2O, and a positive end-expiratory pressure of 3-5 cmH2O. During the ensuing 48 h, there were no measurable deleterious changes in lung function or arterial blood gases. Another 19 sheep were ventilated with 40% oxygen at a peak inspiratory pressure of 30 cmH2O under a different set of conditions and were randomly assigned to two groups. In group B, the respiratory rate was kept near 4 breaths/min to keep arterial PCO2 in the normal range; in group C, the frequency was kept near 15 breaths/min by including a variable dead space in the ventilator circuit to keep arterial PCO2 near baseline values. There was a progressive deterioration in total static lung compliance, functional residual capacity, and arterial blood gases. After some hours, there were abnormal chest roentgenographic changes. At time of death we found severe pulmonary atelectasis, increased wet lung weight, and an increase in the minimum surface tension of saline lung lavage fluid.

Acute lung injury from mechanical ventilation at moderately high airway pressures.

We investigated the histopathologic pulmonary changes induced by mechanical pulmonary ventilation (MV) with a high peak airway pressure and a large tidal volume in healthy baby pigs. Eleven animals were mechanically ventilated at a peak inspiratory pressure (PIP) of 40 cm H2O, a respiratory rate (RR) of 20 min-1, a positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) of 3 to 5 cm H2O, and an FIO2 of 0.4. High airway pressure MV was terminated in 22 +/- 11 h because of severe hypoxemia in the animals. Five of the baby pigs were killed for gross and light microscope studies. The pulmonary changes consisted of alveolar hemorrhage, alveolar neutrophil infiltration, alveolar macrophage and type II pneumocyte proliferation, interstitial congestion and thickening, interstitial lymphocyte infiltration, emphysematous change, and hyaline membrane formation. Those lesions were similar to that seen in the early stage of the adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The remaining six animals were treated for 3 to 6 days with conventional respiratory care with appropriate ventilator settings. Prominent organized alveolar exudate in addition to lesions was also found in the five animals. These findings were indistinguishable from the clinical late stage of ARDS. Six control animals were mechanically ventilated at a PIP of less than 18 cm H2O, a RR of 20 min-1, a PEEP of 3 to 5 cm H2O, and an FIO2 of 0.4 for 48 h. They showed no notable changes in lung functions and histopathologic findings. Aggressive MV with a high PIP is often applied to patients with respiratory distress to attain adequate pulmonary gas exchange.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Histopathologic pulmonary changes from mechanical ventilation at high peak airway pressures

Using an animal model of acute respiratory failure (ARF), we evaluated two treatments: conventional mechanical pulmonary ventilation (MV) and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) with extracorporeal removal of CO2 by an artificial membrane lung. We developed a model of “mild” ARF and a model of “severe” ARF after ventilating healthy sheep at a peak inspiratory pressure of 50 cm H2O for various lengths of time. Sheep from either injury models were randomly assigned to one of the above treatment groups.All 16 sheep from the model with “severe” ARF died, with progressive deterioration in pulmonary function and multiorgan failure irrespective of the treatment. Of 11 sheep from the model with “mild” ARF treated by MV, only three survived, whereas all 11 sheep from the model with “mild” ARF treated with CPAP and extracorporeal removal of CO2 responded well, and nine sheep ultimately recovered.We conclude that CPAP with extracorporeal removal of CO2 provided a better environment for the recovery in our mod...

Severe acute respiratory failure managed with continuous positive airway pressure and partial extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal by an artificial membrane lung. A controlled, randomized animal study.

BackgroundEndotracheal tubes (ETTs) of conventional design and manufacture greatly increase the air-flow resistance of the upper airways This increase in upper-airway resistance can lead to a significant increase in the work of breathing and may necessitate the use of assisted mechanical ventilatio

Design and development of ultrathin-walled, nonkinking endotracheal tubes of a new "no-pressure" laryngeal seal design. A preliminary report.

The effects of high pressure mechanical pulmonary ventilation at a peak inspiratory pressure of 40 cmH20 were studied on the lungs of healthy newborn pigs (14–21 days after birth). Forty percent oxygen in nitrogen was used for ventilation to prevent oxygen intoxication. The control group (6 pigs) was ventilated for 48 hours at a peak inspiratory pressure less than 18 cmH20 and a PEEP of 3–5 cmH20 with a normal tidal volume, and a respiratory rate of 20 times/min. The control group showed few deleterious changes in the lungs for 48 hours. Eleven newborn pigs were ventilated at a peak inspiratory pressure of 40 cmH20 with a PEEP of 3–5 CmH20 and a respiratory rate of 20 times/min. To avoid respiratory alkalosis, a dead space was placed in the respiratory circuit, and normocarbia was maintained by adjusting dead space volume. In all cases in the latter group, severe pulmonary impairments, such as abnormal chest roentgenograms, hypoxemia, decreased total static lung compliance, high incidence of pneumothorax, congestive atelectasis, and increased lung weight were found within 48 hours of ventilation. When the pulmonary impairments became manifest, 6 of the 11 newborn pigs were switched to the conventional medical and ventilatory therapies for 3–6 days. However, all of them became ventilator dependent, and severe lung pathology was found at autopsy. These pulmonary insults by high pressure mechanical pulmonary ventilation could be occurring not infrequently in the respiratory management of patients with respiratory failure.

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Kyoji Tsuno

Papers

Acute lung injury from mechanical ventilation at moderately high airway pressures.

Histopathologic pulmonary changes from mechanical ventilation at high peak airway pressures

Severe acute respiratory failure managed with continuous positive airway pressure and partial extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal by an artificial membrane lung. A controlled, randomized animal study.

Design and development of ultrathin-walled, nonkinking endotracheal tubes of a new "no-pressure" laryngeal seal design. A preliminary report.

Acute respiratory failure induced by mechanical pulmonary ventilation at a peak inspiratory pressure of 40 cmH20