Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remains a serious and often fatal complication in patients following severe trauma or major surgery. Mechanical ventilation is essential for supportive care in this population, but may aggravate lung injury when suboptimal ventilatory settings are applied. Positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) is crucial for maintaining alveolar recruitment; however, optimal PEEP selection in trauma- or postoperative-associated ARDS remains uncertain. Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) enables bedside, real-time assessment of regional ventilation and may support optimal PEEP titration by balancing alveolar overdistension and collapse. This study compares EIT-guided PEEP optimization with the conventional low FiO₂-PEEP strategy in terms of oxygenation and respiratory mechanics in patients with moderate to severe ARDS following trauma or surgery.
Mechanically ventilated surgical intensive care patients with trauma- or postoperative-associated moderate to severe ARDS, as defined by the 2023 Global Definition of ARDS.
Age <18 or >90 years.
Severe acute brain injury or acute stroke with Glasgow Coma Scale <8.
Thoracic trauma with pneumothorax or pneumomediastinum.
End-stage diseases under palliative care (e.g., metastatic cancer, cirrhosis, end-stage renal disease).
Nguyen Dang Thu
Lead sponsor
Vietnam Military Medical University
Sponsor institution
Hanoi Medical University
Collaborator
Viet Duc University Hospital
Collaborator