MECHANICAL VENTILATION AND THE ADULT-RESPIRATORY-DISTRESS-SYNDROME

In 1981, the ventilatory management of patients with ARDS was reviewed in this forum. The majority of the articles examined the benefits and risks of PEEP therapy. Over the last 12 years, a remarkable growth has occurred in the development of new ventilatory strategies for ARDS patients, and some evidence exists that the fatality rate for ARDS has been on the decline over the last few years. It is hoped that a fraction of this improved survival is related to our improved ventilatory support. In the future, more carefully performed, prospective, controlled trials of these ventilatory modalities will be necessary to determine the best strategies for ventilating patients with ARDS.