Protective PEEP and Lung Capacity May Be Determined by a Rapid PEEP-step Procedure

Abstract

Background: A protective ventilation strategy should be based on assessment of lung mechanics and transpulmonary pressure, as this is the pressure that directly “hits” the lung. Esophageal pressure has been used for this purpose but has not gained widespread clinical acceptance. Instead, respiratory system mechanics and airway driving pressure have been used as surrogate measures. We have shown that the lung P/V curve coincides with the line connecting the end-expiratory airway P/V points of a PEEP trial. Consequently, transpulmonary pressure increases as much as PEEP is increased. If the change in end-expiratory lung volume (ΔEELV) is determined, lung compliance (CL) can be determined as ΔEELV/ΔPEEP and ΔPTP as tidal volume times ΔPEEP/ΔEELV. Methods: In ten patients with acute respiratory failure, ΔEELV was measured during each 4 cmH2O PEEP-step from 0 to 16 cmH2O and CL for each PEEP interval calculated as ΔEELV/ΔPEEP giving a lung P/V curve for the whole PEEP trial. Results: Lung P/V curves showed a marked individual variation with an overall lung compliance of 43–143 ml/cmH2O (total inspiratory volume divided by end-inspiratory transpulmonary plateau pressure at PEEP 16 cmH2O). The two patients with lowest lung compliance were non-responders to PEEP with decreasing lung compliance at high PEEP levels, indicating over-distension. Patients with higher lung compliance had a positive response to PEEP with successively higher lung compliance when increasing PEEP. A two-step PEEP procedure starting from a clinical PEEP level of 8 cmH2O gave almost identical lung P/V curves as the four PEEP-step procedure. The ratio of airway driving pressure (ΔPAW) to transpulmonary driving pressure (ΔPTP/ΔPAW) varied between patients and changed with PEEP, reducing the value of ΔPAW as surrogate for ΔPTP in individual patients. Conclusion: Separation of lung and chest wall mechanics can be achieved without esophageal pressure measurements if ΔEELV is determined when PEEP is changed . Only a two-step PEEP procedure is required for obtaining a lung P/V curve from baseline clinical PEEP to end-inspiration at the highest PEEP level, which can be used to determine the PEEP level where transpulmonary driving pressure is lowest and possibly least injurious for any given tidal volume.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04484727. Registered 24 July 2020 – Retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04484727?term=Lindgren%2C+Sophie&cntry=SE&draw=2&rank=1