Ventilation in the prone position

Abstract

"S hortly after acute respiratory distress syndrome was first described, it was soon realized that mechanical ventilation, aside from being essential for the treatment of the disease, can also harm the lungs by increasing the stress and strain applicable to the parenchyma. Stress is the tension developed in the lungs’ fibrous skeleton when a distending force is applied, and strain is the volume increase caused by the applied force relative to the resting volume of the lungs. Supporting a patient’s diseased lung with very high airway pressures can rupture alveoli, causing pneumothoraces and pneumomediastinum."