Airway pressure release ventilation in acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Airway pressure release ventilation (APRV) is an alternative mode of ventilation that is increasingly used in patients with acute respiratory failure, acute lung injury (ALI), and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Animal and clinical studies have demonstrated that, compared with conventional ventilation, APRV has beneficial effects on lung recruitment, oxygenation, end-organ blood flow, pulmonary vasoconstriction, and sedation requirements. Further studies, however, are required to directly compare APRV to ARDSnet protocol ventilation, specifically in patients with ALI/ARDS, and to determine whether managing ALI/ARDS with APRV will also achieve mortality reduction.