“…To maintain adequate alveolar minute ventilation, relatively large V T is thus required with the limited number of mechanical infl ations provided by the ventilator. In a group of ELBW infants in the recovery phase of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) ventilated with SIMV, the V T of mechanical infl ations was about 6 mL/kg with spontaneous V T of 2.5 mL/kg, very close to anatomical dead space (Osorio et al 2005 ). However, most clinicians continue to use SIMV, particularly during the weaning phase (Sharma and Greenough 2007 ).…”