Lung Recruitment During Chest Physiotherapy in Mechanically Ventilated Patients

In intensive care, respiratory physiotherapy is an integral part of the daily care of patients under invasive mechanical ventilation. Its goals are to improve the clearance of bronchial secretions to allow for the resolution of atelectasis and alveolar recruitment, thereby enhancing respiratory mechanics and gas exchange. The most widespread technique in France is external expiratory compression of the chest.

The effectiveness of this technique depends on the selection of patients (it seems to be more effective in patients with higher secretion levels) and on the practical implementation of the technique (favoring brief and vigorous compressions at the beginning of expiration). However, the effect of the artificial ventilator settings, particularly the ventilatory mode used during the respiratory physiotherapy session, has never been evaluated. The two most commonly used ventilatory modes worldwide are Volume Assist Control Ventilation (V-ACV) and pressure support ventilation (PSV). In this unit, respiratory physiotherapy under artificial ventilation is performed daily on patients with artificial ventilation with abundant secretions, regardless of the ventilatory mode.