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Position and the Compromised Respiratory System

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Annual Update in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine 2012

Part of the book series: Annual Update in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine ((AUICEM,volume 2012))

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Abstract

In the critical care setting, positioning is a fundamental tool for implementing an integrated respiratory care strategy. Conversion from the upright to the near-horizontal position used in intensive care is accompanied by important changes in ventilation, perfusion, oxygenation and secretion clearance. These effects are largely accounted for by the influence of gravity on perfusion distribution and by the shifting of pressure vectors as the tissues surrounding the lungs reconfigure. Re-positioning aids or impairs muscle function, affects secretion drainage, influences gas trapping and alters the development or redistribution of lung collapse. Many of these phenomena hold implications for the expression of disease or its management. Mechanical ventilation, sedation, intra-abdominal and intracranial hypertension — common therapies and problems confronted in the intensive care unit (ICU) — are strongly influenced by body orientation.

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Authors
  1. G. A. Cortes
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  2. D. J. Dries
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  3. J. J. Marini
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Intensive Care Erasme Hospital, Université libre de Bruxelles, Route de Lennik 808, B-1070, Brussels, Belgium

    Jean-Louis Vincent (Head) (Head)

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© 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Cortes, G.A., Dries, D.J., Marini, J.J. (2012). Position and the Compromised Respiratory System. In: Vincent, JL. (eds) Annual Update in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine 2012. Annual Update in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, vol 2012. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-25716-2_23

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-25716-2_23

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-25715-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-25716-2

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