Airway pressure release ventilation

Last revised by David Luong on 8 Feb 2022

Airway pressure release ventilation (APRV) is an alternative mode for mechanical ventilation. It can be adopted as an alternative method for difficult-to-oxygenate patients with acute lung injury (ALI)  / acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

It is usually not recommended in patients who require deep sedation for management of their underlying disease (e.g., cerebral edema, status epilepticus etc).

History and etymology

It was described initially by MC Stock and JB Downs in 1987 1.

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