Acute Effects of Lung Expansion Maneuvers in Comatose Subjects With Prolonged Bed Rest.

Background: Patients with decreased consciousness are prone to prolonged bed rest and respiratory complications. If effective in reducing atelectasis, lung expansion maneuvers could be used to prevent these complications. In comatose, bedridden subjects, we aimed to assess the acute effect on regional lung aeration of 2 lung expansion techniques: expiratory positive airway pressure and the breath-stacking maneuver.

Effect of Cardiogenic Oscillations on Trigger Delay During Pressure Support Ventilation.

Background: Sensitive flow or pressure triggers are usually applied to improve ventilator response time. Conversely, too sensitive triggers can incur risk of auto-triggering, a type of asynchrony in which a breath is triggered without inspiratory muscle activity. A frequent cause of auto-triggering is cardiogenic oscillations, characterized by cyclical variations in pressure and flow waveforms caused by cardiac contractions.