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BACKGROUND: Studies aimed at maintaining intraoperative lung volume to reduce post-operative pulmonary complications have been inconclusive because they mixed up the effect of general anesthesia and the surgical procedure. Our aims were to study: (1) lung volume during the entire course of anesthesia without the confounding effects of surgical procedures; (2) the combination of three interventions to maintain lung volume; and (3) the emergence phase with focus on the restored activation of the respiratory muscles. METHODS: Eighteen ASA I-II patients undergoing ENT surgery under general anesthesia without muscle relaxants were randomized to an intervention group, receiving lung recruitment maneuver (LRM) after induction, 7 cmH2 O positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) during anesthesia and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) during emergence with 0.4 inspired oxygen fraction (FiO2 ) or a control group, ventilated without LRM, with 0 cmH2 O PEEP, and 1.0 FiO2 during emergence without CPAP application. End-expiratory lung volume (EELV) was continuously estimated by opto-electronic plethysmography. Inspiratory and expiratory ribcage muscles electromyography was measured in a subset of seven patients. RESULTS: End-expiratory lung volume decreased after induction in both groups. It remained low in the control group and further decreased at emergence, because of active expiratory muscle contraction. In the intervention group, EELV increased after LRM and remained high after extubation. CONCLUSION: A combined intervention consisting of LRM, PEEP and CPAP during emergence may effectively maintain EELV during anesthesia and even after extubation. An unexpected finding was that the activation of the expiratory muscles may contribute to EELV reduction during the emergence phase.

INTRODUCTION: It is well established that during mechanical ventilation of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome cyclic recruitment/derecruitment and overdistension are potentially injurious for lung tissues. We evaluated whether the forced oscillation technique (FOT) could be used to guide the ventilator settings in order to minimize cyclic lung recruitment/derecruitment and cyclic mechanical stress in an experimental model of acute lung injury. METHODS: We studied six pigs in which lung injury was induced by bronchoalveolar lavage. The animals were ventilated with a tidal volume of 6 ml/kg. Forced oscillations at 5 Hz were superimposed on the ventilation waveform. Pressure and flow were measured at the tip and at the inlet of the endotracheal tube respectively. Respiratory system reactance (Xrs) was computed from the pressure and flow signals and expressed in terms of oscillatory elastance (EX5). Positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) was increased from 0 to 24 cm H2O in steps of 4 cm H2O and subsequently decreased from 24 to 0 in steps of 2 cm H2O. At each PEEP step CT scans and EX5 were assessed at end-expiration and end-inspiration. RESULTS: During deflation the relationship between both end-expiratory and end-inspiratory EX5 and PEEP was a U-shaped curve with minimum values at PEEP = 13.4 ± 1.0 cm H2O (mean ± SD) and 13.0 ± 1.0 cm H2O respectively. EX5 was always higher at end-inspiration than at end-expiration, the difference between the average curves being minimal at 12 cm H2O. At this PEEP level, CT did not show any substantial sign of intra-tidal recruitment/derecruitment or expiratory lung collapse. CONCLUSIONS: Using FOT it was possible to measure EX5 both at end-expiration and at end-inspiration. The optimal PEEP strategy based on end-expiratory EX5 minimized intra-tidal recruitment/derecruitment as assessed by CT, and the concurrent attenuation of intra-tidal variations of EX5 suggests that it may also minimize tidal mechanical stress.

Introduction: Protocols using high levels of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) in combination with low tidal volumes have been shown to reduce mortality in patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). However, the optimal method for setting PEEP is yet to be defined. It has been shown that respiratory system reactance (Xrs), measured by the forced oscillation technique (FOT) at 5 Hz, may be used to identify the minimal PEEP level required to maintain lung recruitment. The aim of the present study was to evaluate if using Xrs for setting PEEP would improve lung mechanics and reduce lung injury compared to an oxygenation-based approach. Methods: 17 pigs, in which acute lung injury (ALI) was induced by saline lavage, were studied. Animals were randomized into two groups: in the first PEEP was titrated according to Xrs (FOT group), in the control group PEEP was set according to the ARDSNet protocol (ARDSNet group). The duration of the trial was 12 hours. In both groups recruitment maneuvers (RM) were performed every 2 hours, increasing PEEP to 20 cmH(2)O. In the FOT group PEEP was titrated by monitoring Xrs while PEEP was reduced from 20 cmH(2)O in steps of 2 cmH(2)O. PEEP was considered optimal at the step before which Xrs started to decrease. Ventilatory parameters, lung mechanics, blood gases and hemodynamic parameters were recorded hourly. Lung injury was evaluated by histopathological analysis. Results: The PEEP levels set in the FOT group were significantly higher compared to those set in the ARDSNet group during the whole trial. These higher values of PEEP resulted in improved lung mechanics, reduced driving pressure, improved oxygenation, with a trend for higher PaCO(2) and lower systemic and pulmonary pressure. After 12 hours of ventilation, histopathological analysis showed a significantly lower score of lung injury in the FOT group compared to the ARDSNet group. Conclusions: In a lavage model of lung injury a PEEP optimization strate

Background Anaesthesia based on inhalational agents has profound effects on chest wall configuration and breathing pattern. The effects of propofol are less well characterised. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the effects of propofol anaesthesia on chest wall motion during spontaneous breathing and positive pressure ventilation. Methods We studied 16 subjects undergoing elective surgery requiring general anaesthesia. Chest wall volumes were continuously monitored by opto-electronic plethysmography during quiet breathing (QB) in the conscious state, induction of anaesthesia, spontaneous breathing during anaesthesia (SB), pressure support ventilation (PSV) and pressure control ventilation (PCV) after muscle paralysis. Results The total chest wall volume decreased by 0.41 +/- 0.08 l immediately after induction by equal reductions in the rib cage and abdominal volumes. An increase in the rib cage volume was then seen, resulting in total chest wall volumes 0.26 +/- 0.09, 0.24 +/- 0.10, 0.22 +/- 0.10 l lower than baseline, during SB, PSV and PCV, respectively. During QB, rib cage volume displacement corresponded to 34.2 +/- 5.3% of the tidal volume. During SB, PSV and PCV, this increased to 42.2 +/- 4.9%, 48.2 +/- 3.6% and 46.3 +/- 3.2%, respectively, with a corresponding decrease in the abdominal contribution. Breathing was initiated by the rib cage muscles during SB. Conclusion Propofol anaesthesia decreases end-expiratory chest wall volume, with a more pronounced effect on the diaphragm than on the rib cage muscles, which initiate breathing after apnoea.