Ventilation in the prone position improves oxygenation and results in more lungs being transplanted from organ donors with hypoxemia and atelectasis

Hypoxemia is the most common barrier to lungs being transplanted from eligible organ donors who are brain dead (BD). Atelectasis is the principal reversible contributing factor to hypoxemia after brain death. We evaluated prospectively whether ventilation in the prone position in donors who are BD would reverse atelectasis, improve oxygenation, and result in more lungs being transplanted.

Source: The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation - December 4, 2020 Category: Transplant Surgery Authors: Gary F. Marklin, Coby O'Sullivan, Rajat Dhar Tags: ORIGINAL CLINICAL SCIENCE Source Type: research