Prone positioning for adults with acute lung injury or acute respiratory distress syndrome:Meta-analysis

Objective To compare the effects of prone position and supine position in hospitalized adults with acute lung injury (ALI) or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) by meta-analysis. Methods Many kinds of databases were researched and all the randomized controlled trials were included,which compared prone position with supine position in adults (≥18years) with ALI or ARDS. After evaluation of the quality of included studies and extraction of the data,the software of Review Manager 4.2 was used to analyze those outcomes. Results Four randomized controlled trials(RCT) were included. Prone positioning was significantly more beneficial than supine positioning in PaO2/FiO2, and there were no significant differences in PaO2,PaCO2,mortality and complications(except pressure scores). Conclusions There is no enough evidence to draw a conclusion. Adequately,powered,high quality randomized controlled trials are still needed to assess the effects of prone position in hospitalized adults with ALI or ARDS.