Spontaneous breathing with continuous positive airway pressure in adult respiratory distress syndrome.

The authors describe three systems of spontaneous respiration with positive end expiratory pressure (P.E.E.P.) : the system of continuous positive airway pressure (C.P.A.P.), the bubble and the intermittent mandatory ventilation with C.P.A.P. (I.M.V.-C.P.A.P.) by Servo-Ventilator 900 B. The results are conclusive with the C.P.A.P. unit used for post-traumatic adult patients in acute respiratory distress and for patients who have been anesthetized for more than three hours. The PaO2 significantly increase in subjects whose PaO2 in the ambient air without P.E.E.P. is lower than 70 mm Hg. The bubble is less used due to its drawbacks. The Servo 900 B offers many possibilities, one of which is reported in this paper.