Recruitment Maneuver Does not Increase the Risk of Ventilator Induced Lung Injury.

Background: Mechanical ventilation (MV) may induce lung injury.

Aims: To assess and evaluate the role of different mechanical ventilation strategies on ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI) in comparison to a strategy which includes recruitment manoeuvre (RM).

Study Design: Randomized animal experiment.

Methods: Thirty male Sprague-Dawley rats were anaesthetised, tracheostomised and divided into 5 groups randomly according to driving pressures; these were mechanically ventilated with following peak alveolar opening (Pao) and positive end-expiratory pressures (PEEP) for 1 hour: Group 15-0: 15 cmH2O Pao and 0 cmH2O PEEP; Group 30-10: 30 cmH2O Pao and 10 cmH2O PEEP; Group 30-5: 30 cmH2O Pao and 5 cmH2O PEEP; Group 30-5&RM: 30 cmH2O Pao and 5 cmH2O PEEP with additional 45 cmH2O CPAP for 30 seconds in every 15 minutes; Group 45-0: 45 cmH2O Pao and 0 cmH2O PEEP Before rats were sacrificed, blood samples were obtained for the evaluation of cytokine and chemokine levels; then, the lungs were subsequently processed for morphologic evaluation.

Results: Oxygenation results were similar in all groups; however, the groups were lined as follows according to the increasing severity of morphometric evaluation parameters: Group 15-0: (0±0.009) < Group 30-10: (0±0.14) < Group 30-5&RM: (1±0.12) < Group 30-5: (1±0.16) < Group 45-0: (2±0.16). Besides, inflammatory responses were the lowest in 30-5&RM group compared to all other groups. TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, MCP-1 levels were significantly different between group 30-5&RM and group 15-0 vs. group 45-0 in each group.

Conclusion: RM with low PEEP reduces the risk of ventilator-induced lung injury with a lower release of systemic inflammatory mediators in response to mechanical ventilation.