Acute respiratory distress syndrome: rapid and significant response to volume-controlled inverse ratio ventilation--a case report.

Pulmonary complications following cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) are relatively common, with up to 12% of patients experiencing acute lung injury (ALI). The treatment for ALI or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is primarily supportive with specific modes of mechanical ventilation. We report a 46-year-old man withARDS after cardiac surgery whose arterial oxygenation was surprisingly improved 1 hour after using volume-controlled inverse ratio ventilation (VC-IRV).