[Recruitment maneuvers for patients with lung failure. When, how, whether or not?]

Recruitment maneuvers have been proposed as an adjunct to mechanical ventilation to re-expand collapsed lung regions. Although, in most patients recruitment maneuvers improve gas exchange a controversial discussion on recruitment maneuvers remains. This article reviews the physiological and patho-physiological backgrounds of recruitment maneuvers. The different recruitment maneuvers and possible monitoring are discussed as well as the influence of recruitment on other organs. Furthermore, we discuss whether recruitment maneuvers are useful if patients with acute lung injury or acute respiratory distress syndrome are ventilated with a lung-protective strategy.