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Updated: Oct 4, 2025

Monitoring Lung Function with Electrical Impedance Tomography in the Intensive Care Unit
Published on: September 6, 2024
Improving delivery of low tidal volume ventilation in 10 ICUs
Chenell Donadee1, Mark Cohen-Melamed2, Edgar Delgado2
1Department of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA donadeecl@upmc.edu.
Abstract:
Low tidal volume ventilation (LTVV) is standard of care for mechanically ventilated patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome and has been shown to improve outcomes in the general mechanically ventilated population. Despite these improved outcomes, in clinical practice the LTVV standard of care is often not met. We aimed to increase compliance with LTVV in mechanically ventilated patients in 10 intensive care units at 3 hospitals within the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Department of Critical Care Medicine. Four Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles were implemented to improve compliance with LTVV. Initial compliance rates of 40.6%-60.1% improved to 91%-96% by the end of the fourth PDSA cycle. The most impactful step in the intervention was providing education and giving responsibility of selecting the tidal volume to the respiratory therapist. The overall intervention resulted in improved compliance with LTVV that has been sustained for multiple years after our active PDSA cycles.
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