Low-Tidal-Volume Ventilation as a Strategy to Reduce Ventilator-Associated Injury in ALI and ARDS

One of the most hotly debated aspect of inhalation injury is the "best" method of mechanical ventilation. Mechanical ventilation protocols differ between both physicians and burn centers, and multiple different strategies for mechanical ventilation are currently being used to support the burn patient with inhalation injury. These strategies range from applying recent advances in acute respiratory distress syndrome to conventional mechanical ventilation to the use of alternative modes of ventilation such as the volumetric diffusive respirator. The articles in this section describe recent changes in philosophy with respect to mechanical ventilation, the various modes of ventilation being used to support the patient with inhalation injury, and the rationale behind each strategy.