Multiple System Organ Failure: Is Mechanical Ventilation a Contributing Factor?

Few problems facing the intensivist are as frustrating or as difficult to manage as multiple system organ failure (MSOF). While the precise etiology remains unknown, an integral feature is the development of a rampant systemic inflammatory response that persists unabated by host control mechanisms. Either a single massive insult, or a series of less intense insults (i.e., “two-hits”) appear to be necessary to overwhelm the individuals innate regulatory mechanisms. Often the lung is the first organ to fail, leading to initiation (or continuation) of ventilatory support. Although in some patients a precipitating nidus of infection or inflammation is identifiable, and lung injury is simply the first clinically evident manifestation of a systemic process, there remain a large number of patients in whom the explanation for progression from respiratory failure to multiple system organ failure is unclear. In this Perspective, we explore the hypothesis that mechanical ventilation may play a pivotal (and hereto unrecognized) role in the initiation and/or propagation of a systemic inflammatory response leading to MSOF in certain patients. We address this issue by examining the following questions: Can mechanical ventilation initiate or exacerbate lung injury/inflammation? Can lung injury/inflammation lead to systemic inflammation? Is there evidence of MSOF secondary to mechanical ventilation?