Should High-Frequency Ventilation in the Adult Be Abandoned?

High-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) can improve ventilation-perfusion matching without excessive alveolar tidal stretching or collapse-reopening phenomenon. This is an attractive feature in the ventilation of patients with ARDS. However, two recent large multi-center trials of HFOV failed to show benefits in this patient population. The following review addresses whether, in view of these trails, HFOV should be abandoned in the adult population?