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Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Preoxygenation Techniques for Tracheal Intubation in Critically Ill Adults Utilizing Oxygen Mask and Noninvasive Ventilation
Published on: December 5, 2025
Basic ventilator management: lung protective strategies
1Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 3459 Fifth Avenue, 628 NW, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. donahoem@upmc.edu
Abstract:
Acute respiratory failure is manifested clinically as a patient with variable degrees of respiratory distress, but characteristically an abnormal arterial blood partial pressure of oxygen or carbon dioxide. The application of mechanical ventilation in this setting can be life-saving. An emerging body of clinical and basic research, however, has highlighted the potential adverse effects of positive pressure ventilation. Clinicians involved with the care of critically ill patients must recognize and seek to prevent these complications using lung-protective ventilation strategies. This article discusses the basic concepts of mechanical ventilation, reviews the categories of ventilator-associated lung injury, and discusses current strategies for the recognition and prevention of these adverse effects in the application of mechanical ventilation.
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