Vnitr Lek 2007, 53(12):1319-1324

Current view on the risks of artificial pulmonary ventilation

R. Kula^1,*, P. Sklienka¹, V. Chýlek¹, P. Szturz¹, J. Neiser²

¹ Anesteziologicko-resuscitační klinika FN Ostrava, přednosta prim. MUDr. Jan Jahoda

² Oddělení pediatrické intenzívní a resuscitační péče FN Ostrava, přednosta doc. MUDr. Michal Hladík, Ph.D.

There is no doubt that artificial ventilation of lungs seems to be proven as life-saving manoeuvre, whereas a growing amount of evidence is presented and published recently that artificial ventilation cause damage to patient by so far unexplained mechanism - by conversion of mechanical stress to biochemical signals inducing local and systemic inflammatory response, which is wide spreading and causing multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS). Higher mortality of patients with acute lung injury on MODS rather than acute respiratory failure itself can be explained just by these findings. The article is brief summary of recent opinions of mechanism of ventilator induced lung and systemic injury. There is also evidence that the process of implementation of these finding into clinical practice is exceedingly slow.

Keywords: artificial lung ventilation; ventilator induced lung injury; multiorgan dysfunction syndrome (MODS)

Received: July 16, 2007; Accepted: September 8, 2007; Published: December 1, 2007  Show citation