Cambios respiratorios y hemodinámicos durante una maniobra de reclutamiento pulmonar mediante incrementos y decrementos progresivos de PEEP

objective: to evaluate the respiratory and hemodynamic changes during lung recruitment maneuvering (lrm) through stepwise increases and decreases in peep level. design and setting: a retrospective study in a 17-bed icu was carried out. patients: twenty-one patients with acute respiratory failure and bilateral pulmonary infiltration. intervention: lrm was carried out, consisting of stepwise increases in peep (4cmh2o every 3minutes), with fixed ventilation pressure, until reaching a maximal value of 36cmh2o peep (ascending branch), followed by progressive decreases in peep (2cmh2o every 3minutes) until establishing the open-lung peep at the value associated to maximum respiratory compliance (crs) (descending branch). continuous hemodynamic monitoring was performed using an esophageal echodoppler probe. results: crs gradually decreased in the ascending branch of the lrm, and progressively increased surpassing the initial value after establish the open-lung peep in the descending branch, reducing the ventilation pressure and increasing the spo2/fio2 ratio. hemodynamic changes primarily consisted of a fall in cardiac output and left ventricular preload, together with an increased heart rate and cardiac contractility. at comparable levels of peep and mean airway pressure, these changes were more pronounced during the descending branch of the lrm. conclusions: 1) lrm increased crs, improving oxygenation and decreasing ventilation pressure; 2) the main hemodynamic consequence was the drop in cardiac output and left ventricular preload; and 3) the unequal hemodynamic derangement in both branches, at the same level of peep and mean airway pressure, showed that, along with intrathoracic pressure, other factor such as crs and hypercapnia may have influenced the hemodynamic consequences of this type of lrm.