Protective ventilation strategies in the management of phosgene-induced acute lung injury.

Phosgene is a chemical widely used in the plastics industry and has been used in warfare. It produces a life-threatening pulmonary edema within hours of exposure, to which no specific antidote exists. This study aims to examine the pathophysiological changes seen with low tidal volume ventilation (protective ventilation (PV)) strategies compared to conventional ventilation (CV), in a model of phosgene-induced acute lung injury.

Prediction of upper airway closure in inhalational injury.

Inhalational injury is an imprecise term used to refer to a wide range of airway and pulmonary problems in the context of thermal injury. It markedly increases the mortality and morbidity of a given degree of cutaneous thermal injury. The incidence of proximal airway edema on the modern battlefield is likely to increase with the advent of enhanced blast and thermobaric weapons systems.