Effect of PP in Patients With Ultra-low VT

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a heterogeneous syndrome with similar clinicopathological feathers caused by different etiologies. Respiratory supportive strategies is the main ARDS management, and the guidelines recommend low tidal volume to improve clinical outcomes. To be note, overdistension can still occur even if using a tidal volume as low as 6 ml/kg, given the heterogeneous nature of the syndrome. Therefore, adjusting tidal volume level to less than 6ml/kg may reduce ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI) and thus improve outcomes, especially in patients with severe lung injury. Prone position is also an important management in severe ARDS. Prone position can improve ventilation-perfusion (V/Q) matching and reduce the risk of VILI by recruiting dorsal collapsed alveoli. Meanwhile, prone position has also been shown to improve hemodynamics. Recent studies have showed that prone position did not reduce duration of venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) and 90-day mortality in patients with ARDS who receive VV-ECMO with ultra-low tidal volume ventilation. Therefore, the effect of PP on ventilation and lung blood flow in ARDS patients treated with VV-ECMO wiht ultra-low tidal volume ventilation remains unclear.