Recruitment maneuver: Does it promote bacterial translocation?

Abstract

Objective: High peak airway opening pressures (Pao) are used routinely during recruitment maneuvers to open collapsed lung units. High peak Pao, however, can cause lung injury as evidenced by translocation of intratracheally inoculated bacteria. In this study we explored whether recruitment maneuvers that used high Pao could cause translocation of the intratracheally inoculated Pseudomonas aeruginosa from the alveoli into the systemic circulation.