How alterations in pleural pressure influence esophageal pressure

Although esophageal pressures have been substituted for direct pleural pressure measurement in humans, we have investigated the validity of this approach under circumstances when left and right pleural pressures are not equal. Esophageal and bilateral pleural pressures in awake sheep were compared by using matched balloon catheters in close proximity. In standing sheep, both end-expiratory pressures and inspiratory pressure swings were similar in all three catheter systems. However, when pleural pressures were made unequal, as during lateral recumbency or unilateral pneumothorax, the esophageal pressure reflected predominantly the right pleural pressure. These results suggest that esophageal pressures are useful estimates of pleural pressure under normal conditions when pleural pressures are equal bilaterally. However, the usefulness of esophageal pressures is limited in the presence of unilateral pneumothorax or other conditions where left and right pleural pressures are unequal. In the lateral decubitus position, positive end-expiratory pleural pressures were consistently observed. This was believed to be due to a combination of contraction of expiratory muscles, rapid respiratory rate resulting in insufficient expiratory time to reach an equilibrium pressure, and increased airways resistance resulting from compression of the dependent lung by the abdominal viscera. A single study in a paralyzed ventilated sheep showed less positive expiratory pressures, which were further reduced to zero or less when the respiratory rate was slowed to 10 breaths/min.