Acute lung injury and the acute respiratory distress syndrome in the injured patient

Table 2 A continuum of treatment options with at times inconsistent evidence (see text for references)

Proven benefit	Suggested benefit in select patients	Indeterminate benefit	Suggested as not harmful	No benefit
Low tidal volumes of 6 ml/kg predicted body weight	Fluid restriction	Recruitment maneuvers	Higher PEEP	Surfactant
PEEP ≥ 5 cm H₂O	Incentive spirometry	High-frequency oscillatory ventilation		Prostaglandin E1
Plateau pressures ≤ 30 cm H₂O	Patient-initiated positive airway pressure therapy	Airway pressure release ventilation		N-acetylcysteine
	Non-invasive positive pressure ventilation	Steroids
	Early use of neuromuscular blocking agents
	Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
	Rib fracture fixation
	Prone positioning

ISSN: 1757-7241