Prone ventilation in the management of infants with acute respiratory distress syndrome after complex cardiac surgery.

Abstract

ACUTE RESPIRATORY DISTRESS SYNDROME (ARDS) after systemic infection is a known complication after congenital heart surgery. This can result in life-threatening hypoxemia in some critically ill infants. This complication assumes special clinical relevance after cardiac surgery because it leads to an imbalance among the available oxygen, impaired myocardial function, and increased oxygen requirements. Traditional ventilation techniques have been implicated in worsening lung injury. Prone ventilation is emerging as a promising adjuvant to lung-protective ventilatory strategies in ARDS in both the adult and pediatric populations. 1 Fessler H.E. Talmor D.S. Should prone positioning be routinely used for lung protection during mechanical ventilation?. Respir Care. 2010; 55: 88-99 PubMed Google Scholar There is a paucity of literature on the use of prone ventilation in pediatric cardiac surgery. By presenting this case series, the authors want to convey the efficacy of prone ventilation in infants with severe refractory hypoxemia after systemic infection and ARDS after complex congenital heart surgery.