Combined Negative- and Positive-Pressure Ventilation for the Treatment of ARDS

Objective. Tracheal intubation and positive-pressure ventilation as the current standard of care for the adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) seem to have reached their limit in terms of a further relevant reduction of the still very high mortality. Case Presentation. A 75-year-old male patient developed ARDS after abscess drainage with deteriorating oxygenation, despite positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) values above 15 cm H2O. We applied external negative-pressure ventilation with a chamber respirator using -33 cm H2O at inspiration and -15 cm H2O at expiration, combined with conventional pressure support using a PEEP of about 8 cm H2O and a pressure support of 4-12 cm H2O. Alveolar infiltrates disappeared rapidly and PaO2/FiO2 values surpassed 300 mmHg after the first application and 500 mmHg after the second. Negative-pressure ventilation was used for 6-18 hours/day over five days. Now, 13 years later, the patient is still alive and has a good quality of life. Conclusion. Using this or similar concepts, not only in intubated patients but also as a noninvasive approach in patients with ARDS, offers new options that may genuinely differ from the present therapeutic approaches and may, therefore, have the potential to decrease the present high mortality from ARDS.