"Assisted PEEP"–Assisted Mechanical Ventilation with Positive End-Expiratory Pressure

Abstract

Numerous studies have documented the effectiveness of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) in selected patients. PEEP has been employed successfully in many cases where profound hypoxemia proved resistant to more conventional therapeutic maneuvers. PEEP has also been valuable in selected cases in which its use permitted gas exchange to be improved to such a degree that high in-spired oxygen fractions could be reduced when oxygen toxicity was thought to be imminent. Until now, treatment schemes involving the use of PEEP in conjunc-tion with mechanical ventilation have necessitated absolute control of ventilation. This report describes a technique that allows for PEEP to be maintained during assisted ventilation with the Bennett MA-1 ventilator. This will presumably afford more latitude to clinicians who recognize the potential benefits of PEEP but who may be reluctant to administer potent analgetic, narcotic, or curariform drugs to a particular patient.