Preventing Ventilator-Associated Lung Injury: A Perioperative Perspective.

Introduction: Research into the prevention of ventilator-associated lung injury (VALI) in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in the intensive care unit (ICU) has resulted in the development of a number of lung protective strategies, which have become commonplace in the treatment of critically ill patients. An increasing number of studies have applied lung protective ventilation in the operating room to otherwise healthy individuals. We review the history of lung protective strategies in patients with acute respiratory failure and explore their use in patients undergoing mechanical ventilation during general anesthesia.