Functional residual capacity tool: A practical method to assess lung volume changes during pulmonary complications in mechanically ventilated patients.

In this report, we describe a patient in whom we used a functional residual capacity (FRC) tool available on a critical care ventilator to identify the loss of lung volume associated with pulmonary complications and increase in FRC with the application of a recruitment maneuver. The case report underlines the utility of the FRC tool in rapid visualization of the lung volume changes and the effects of application of corrective strategies in patients receiving mechanical ventilation.