Roles of early prone position ventilation in patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome

Objective To study the roles of early prone position ventilation in patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Methods 38 patients with severe ARDS in our intensive care unit were randomly divided into two groups from January 2014 to January 2016.In the control group (n=19), mechanical ventilation was taken in the conventional position, and in the observation group (n=19), the mechanical ventilation was performed in the prone position.There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in other treatment.The levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) were measured at 0 h, 6 h, 24 h, 48 h and 72 h after mechanical ventilation, and Murray acute lung injury score was observed at the corresponding time points.And the mechanical ventilation time, intubation time, ICU hospital stay, and the survival rates on days 28 and 90 were recorded. Results 38 patients with severe ARDS in our intensive care unit were randomly divided into two groups from January 2014 to January 2016.In the control group (n=19), mechanical ventilation was taken in the conventional position, and in the observation group (n=19), the mechanical ventilation was performed in the prone position.There showed no significant difference between the two groups in other treatment.The levels of TNF-α and IL-6 were measured at 0 h, 6 h, 24 h, 48 h and 72 h after mechanical ventilation, and Murray acute lung injury score was observed at the corresponding time points.And the mechanical ventilation time, intubation time, ICU hospital stay, and the survival rates on days 28 and 90 were recorded. Conclusions Early prone position ventilation could reduce the incidence of ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI) in patients with severe ARDS.Early prone position ventilation can shorten the mechanical ventilation time, intubation time and ICU hospital stay in patients with severe ARDS.Early prone position ventilation had no significant effect on early and late survival in patients with severe ARDS. Key words: Prone position; Rrespiratory Distress Syndrome, acute; Ventilator-induced lung injury; Survival rate