Prone Ventilation in Brain-Dead Organ Donors Acutely Increases Oxygenation and Results in More Lungs Transplanted

A PaO2/FiO2 ratio (PFR) above 300 is a primary donor criterion for lung transplantation. Absence of cough and respiratory drive in the brain-dead (BD) donor results in basilar atelectasis, contributing to V/Q mismatching and hypoxemia. We hypothesized that ventilating BD donors in the prone position would result in better V/Q matching, increased PFR, and more lungs transplanted.
Source: The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation - Category: Transplant Surgery Authors: Tags: (941) Source Type: research