Constant mean airway pressure with different patterns of positive pressure breathing during the adult respiratory distress syndrome.

Twenty-one ARDS patients were divided into two groups of severity according to FIO2 and PEEP required to maintain an adequate gas exchange. The 10 most severe patients (group A) underwent continuous positive pressure ventilation (CPPV) (I/E 3:1) with the mean airway pressure maintained at 21 +/- 6.2 cmH2O. The PEEP values were 12.6 +/- 4.3 cmH2O during CPPV and 6.5 +/- 3.7 cmH2O during IRV (p less than 0.01). Eleven less severe ARDS patients (group B) underwent CPPV and positive pressure spontaneous breathing (CPAP) at constant mean airway pressure of 14.3 +/- 3.8 cmH2O. The PEEP was 7 +/- 2.5 cmH2O during CPPV and 14.9 +/- 4.3 cmH2O during CPAP (p less than 0.001). In five patients of each group, the SF6 shunt was measured as representative of true shunt. The results showed that gas exchange, including true shunt, and haemodynamics did not change between CPPV and IRV and between CPPV and CPAP tests. Taken with previous work on mean airway pressure, our results further support the concept that the main determinant of oxygenation and haemodynamics is the mean airway pressure, irrespective of the PEEP level and of the mode of ventilation.