Recruitment maneuvers in acute lung injury

Maintaining optimal lung recruitment has a marked effect on the outcome of patients who suffer from ARDS. RMs superimposed on mechanical ventilation have the potential to recruit atelectatic lungs in the course of general anesthesia; however, the physiologic benefits are less evident in ARDS patients who are ventilated at low VT values and high PEEP levels. Currently, the following technical aspects warrant further investigation: optimal time (the first hours after intubation or the first days of ARDS), duration (from 15 seconds to 2 minutes), mode (continuous positive end-expiratory pressure or pressure controlled ventilation with high PEEP), and type of patients (pulmonary versus extrapulmonary ARDS). Before the routine implementation of RMs to recruit the lungs fully in ARDS patients, clinicians also need more information on side effects and contraindications. Although RMs are transient, they may be associated with complications such as hypotension, bradycardia, and barotrauma. Moreover, further studies are needed to compare the efficacy of periodic high-pressure RMs that are superimposed on mechanical ventilation with ventilation using high PEEP levels and low VT values without RMs in patients who have early ARDS after initial hemodynamic stabilization.