The use of mechanical hyperventilation in the treatment of elevated intracranial pressure is a well-established practice. We describe a patient with multiple trauma and a closed-head injury in whom conventional positive-pressure ventilation aggravated existing intracranial hypertension. High frequency jet ventilation was instituted, alleviating the undesirable effects of positive-pressure ventilation. Arterial blood gases improved during high frequency jet ventilation. High frequency jet ventilation may be the ventilatory method of choice in multiple-trauma victims with elevated intracranial pressure.
Branson et al. (Sat,) studied this question.