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Pulmonary recruitment manoeuvres (RM) are intended to reopen collapsed lung areas. RMs are present in nature as a physiological mechanism to get a newborn to open their lungs for the first time at birth, and we also use them, in our usual anaesthesiological clinical practice, after induction or during general anaesthesia when a patient is desaturated. However, there is much confusion in clinical practice regarding their safety, the best way to perform them, when to do them, in which patients they are indicated, and in those where they are totally contraindicated. There are important differences between RM in the patient with adult respiratory distress syndrome, and in a healthy patient during general anaesthesia. Our intention is to review, from a clinical and practical point of view, the use of RM, specifically in anaesthesia., (Copyright © 2017 Sociedad Española de Anestesiología, Reanimación y Terapéutica del Dolor. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Current treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome is based on ventilatory support with a lung protective strategy, avoiding the development of iatrogenic injury, including ventilator-induced lung injury. One of the mechanisms underlying such injury is atelectrauma, and positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) is advocated in order to avoid it. The indicated PEEP level has not been defined, and in many cases is based on the patient oxygen requirements for maintaining adequate oxygenation. However, this strategy does not consider the mechanics of the respiratory system, which varies in each patient and depends on many factors-including particularly the duration of acute respiratory distress syndrome. A review is therefore made of the different methods for adjusting PEEP, focusing on the benefits of individualized application., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and SEMICYUC. All rights reserved.)

Bronchoscopy is a commonly used technique in patients with atelectasis due to mucus plugs. We present here the case of an 82-year-old patient with a history of Meige's syndrome who developed acute respiratory failure due to atelectasis of the right upper lobe associated with hospital-acquired pneumonia. The patient had a severely reduced level of consciousness, significant work-of-breathing and severe hypercapnic acidosis, all of which contraindicated bronchoscopy. Bi-level noninvasive mechanical ventilation (NIMV) was initiated by way of a face mask. Progress was favourable, with clear clinical and gasometric improvement. The chest X-ray performed 12hours later showed complete resolution of the atelectasis. These data suggest that NIMV may be useful in the treatment of atelectasis is some critical patients., (Copyright © 2013 SEPAR. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.)

Respiratory complications are a significant cause of post-operative morbidity and mortality. Peri-operative atelectasis, in particular, affects 90% of surgical patients and its effects can be prolonged, due to changes in respiratory mechanics, pulmonary circulation and hypoxaemia. Alveolar collapse is caused by certain predisposing factors, mainly by compression and absorption mechanisms. To prevent or treat these atelectasis several therapeutic strategies have been proposed, such as alveolar recruitment manoeuvres, which has become popular in the last few years. Its application in patients with alveolar collapse, but without a previous significant acute lung lesion, has some special features, therefore its use is not free of uncertainties and complications. This review describes the frequency, pathophysiology, importance and treatment of peri-operative atelectasis. Special attention is paid to treatment with recruitment manoeuvres, with the purpose of providing a basis for the their rational and appropriate use., (2009 SEPAR. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.)

In recent years lung recruitment maneuvers (RM) have awakened an increasing interest due to their potential beneficial effects in lung protection so that they have been progressively introduced into clinical practice. Many clinical and experimental studies have described the physiological benefits obtained after lung re-expansion although these benefits are not uniform, partly because of the wide heterogeneity of the RMs applied and lack of criteria defining their goal. Therefore, to date it has been difficult to establish the role of recruitment in the ventilatory management of ARDS patients. However, the information obtained from recent studies has improved our understanding regarding the mechanisms governing lung recruitment, interpretation of its response and its side effects and this has strongly contributed to its improved practical application. Lung recruitment must be applied in a protocolized and individualized way, establishing the pressure necessary to obtain the reasonably possible maximum lung re-expansion in each patient. Post RM PEEP adjustment is an essential aspect which, if ignored, renders RM useless and possibly without indication. Taking these essential aspects into account we are getting closer to, as the author believes, finally demonstrating the benefit of RM in lung protection and ARDS patients' outcome.

A reduction in both total lung volume and in lung parenchyma useful for gas exchange has been observed in ARDS patients. Applying an appropriate ventilatory pattern that includes PEEP can open up collapsed areas of the lung to aeration, thus ensuring a more homogeneous distribution of air in the lung. However, the heterogeneous patterns observed in patients with ARDS vary widely in their response to ventilation with PEEP. Recruitment maneuvers (RM) have been proposed as an adjuvant treatment to mechanical ventilation to re-expand collapsed lung tissue in ARDS. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether RM are useful when patients are ventilated with high PEEP or when they have fibrosis, stiff chest wall, or hypovolemia, among other conditions. Likewise, decisions about RM must take into account not only their short- and long-term efficacy and reversibility, but also possible adverse effects derived from the high pressures reached during RM, including barotrauma, hemodynamic alterations, reduced systolic volume and aortic flow, and difficulties in venous return, as well as the possibility of bacterial translocation to the bloodstream or other organs. This article review the effects of RM as adjuvant treatment to mechanical ventilation in ARDS patients and discuss its efficacy and potential benefits as well as the different interactions that RM can have with the diverse conditions that can be associated to ARDS.

Atelectasis occurs in most patients during general anesthesia and is the main cause of hypoxemia. The objective of this review is to examine the causes and diagnosis of atelectasis and the different strategies for reducing or preventing this complication and improving oxygenation. Pulmonary atelectasis is mainly caused by 3 factors: compression, gas absorption, and lack of surfactant. Compression and gas absorption are, however, the 2 most commonly implicated factors. Lung collapse is accentuated if pure oxygen is inhaled during induction or if the patient is morbidly obese. Laparoscopic, thoracic, and upper abdominal interventions also carry risk of lung collapse. Various techniques may be used to prevent atelectasis or to reopen collapsed lung tissue. These include using positive end-expiratory pressure or a high tidal volume-thus providing a higher airway pressure (vital capacity maneuver)-or both in combination. Alveolar recruitment strategies have been tried in bariatric surgery, single-lung ventilation, laparoscopy, and adult respiratory distress syndrome. Their application has reduced or prevented atelectasis, thereby reducing postoperative pulmonary complications.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of flexible bronchoscopy plus bronchoalveolar lavage for the reexpansion of persistent atelectasis (course longer than 3 weeks) in children., Patients and Methods: Retrospective review of the records of 83 children who underwent flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy plus bronchoalveolar lavage for persistent atelectasis. Three categories of evolution were established for radiologic assessment: a) full re-expansion (full improvement over the initial image); b) partial re-expansion (decreased atelectasis of between 50% and 100%); and c) no change (if the decrease was less than 50% of the initial image)., Results: Endoscopy revealed mucus plugs in 54 patients (65%); bronchial malformations in 16 (19%); bronchial stenosis in 5 (6%); normal airways in 5 (6%) and other findings in 3 (4%). Radiologic changes after bronchoscopy showed full expansion for 34 patients (41%), partial re-expansion for 28 (34%) and no changes for 21 (25%)., Conclusion: Flexible bronchoscopy plus bronchoalveolar lavage for the re-expansion of persistent atelectasis is useful in a high percentage of children.

Two patients with respiratory failure were treated with independent lung ventilation (ILV). During their clinical course they developed atelectasis without response to usual therapies. The use of ILV and selective positive end-expiratory pressure (S-PEEP) allowed lung expansion and oxymetric improvement. With the ILV plus S-PEEP we tried to correct the abnormal ventilation/perfusion ratio. ILV plus S-PEEP increases both the ventilation in the highly perfused areas, and the functional residual capacity selectively in the pathologic lung in unilateral affection cases.