J Crit Care . Positive end-expiratory pressure in COVID-19-related ARDS: Do not forget the airway closure

[tetano]

J Crit Care


. 2021 Apr 20;64:141-143.
doi: 10.1016/j.jcrc.2021.04.005. Online ahead of print.
Positive end-expiratory pressure in COVID-19-related ARDS: Do not forget the airway closure


Cl?ment Brault[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yoann Zerbib[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Loay Kontar[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Mathieu Carpentier[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Julien Maizel[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Michel Slama[SUP] 2 [/SUP]



Affiliations

• PMID: 33906102
• PMCID: PMC8056835
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcrc.2021.04.005

Free PMC article

Abstract

Airway closure is a physiological phenomenon in which the distal airways are obstructed when the airway pressure drops below the airway opening pressure. We assessed this phenomenon in 27 patients with coronavirus disease 2019-related acute respiratory distress syndrome. Twelve (44%) patients had an airway opening pressure above 5 cmH[SUB]2[/SUB]O. The median airway opening pressure was 8 cmH[SUB]2[/SUB]O (interquartile range, 7-10), with a maximum value of 17 cmH[SUB]2[/SUB]O. Three patients had a baseline positive end-expiratory pressure lower than the airway opening pressure.

Keywords: Acute respiratory distress syndrome; Airway closure; Airway opening pressure; Positive end-expiratory pressure.