Abstract
The oxygen cost of breathing (OCB) can be directly estimated during the weaning process from mechanical ventilation: it is a difference between whole-body oxygen uptake (VO 2 ) during spontaneous breathing and VO 2 during controlled ventilation, when respiratory muscles are supposed to be at rest. The recent development of new methods of indirect calorimetry allows an accurate and continuous measurement of VO 2 in intubated and mechanically ventilated patients. The value of the OCB is mainly dependent on the underlying pulmonary disease. Finally, this measurement provides an objective evaluation of the efficay of new modalities of partial ventilatory support, such as pressure support ventilation.
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