Acute respiratory distress syndrome: rapid and significant response to volume-controlled inverse ratio ventilation

Pulmonary complications following cardiopulmonary bypass [CPB] are relatively common, with up to 12% of patients experiencing acute long injury [ALI]. The treatment for ALI or acute respiratory distress syndrome [ARDS] is primarily supportive with specific modes of mechanical ventilation. We report a 46-year-old man with ARDS after cardiac surgery whose arterial oxygenation was surprisingly improved 1 hour after using volume-controlled inverse ratio ventilation [VC-IRV]