Mechanical Ventilation Guided by Uncalibrated Esophageal Pressure May Be Potentially Harmful

Conclusions In a clinical setting with variable chest wall mechanics, uncalibrated measurements substantially overestimated absolute values and underestimated respiratory variations of esophageal pressure. Calibration could substantially improve mechanical ventilation guided by esophageal pressure.Editor ’s PerspectiveWhat We Already Know about This TopicEsophageal pressure can be used as a surrogate for pleural pressure for optimizing mechanical ventilationHowever, surgeries such as pelvic robotic surgery involve fluctuations in abdominal load and intrathoracic pressure that may artificially influence esophageal pressureWhat This Article Tells Us That Is NewThis study enrolled patients undergoing pelvic robotic surgery and found that esophageal balloon calibration significantly improved assessment of esophageal pressure when compared with the conventional uncalibrated approach to measuring esophageal pressure
Source: Anesthesiology - Category: Anesthesiology Source Type: research