Grassetto et al. Flow-controlled ventilation may reduce mechanical power and increase ventilatory efficiency in severe coronavirus disease-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome. Pulmonology 2022

In this pilot study, Dr. Grassetto and colleagues evaluated the effect of flow-controlled ventilation on mechanical power and ventilatory efficiency in Covid-19 related ARDS patients. The FCV mode by Evone was applied for fours hours in ten patients that had developed refractory hypoxemia despite previous optimization of conventional controlled mechanical ventilation (CMV) and prone positioning. FCV settings were chosen to maintain comparable driving pressures and tidal volumes as during CMV. Results demonstrated that FCV provided adequate gas exchange, with significantly reduced minute volumes compared to CMV. Furthermore, by avoiding high peak flows and reducing respiratory rates, FCV allowed ventilation with significantly decreased mechanical power. Also, FCV provided a higher ventilation efficiency and significantly reduced the ventilatory ratio compared to CMV.