Preemptive mechanical ventilation can block progressive acute lung injury

Figure 3 In vivo photomicrographs and percentage of alveolar air space occupancy at inspiration and expiration. A: In vivo photomicrographs at inspiration and expiration prior to coloring and for positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) of 5 cm H₂O, airway pressure release ventilation (APRV) ratio of termination of peak expiratory flow rate (T-PEFR) to peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) of 10%, PEEP of 16 cm H₂O, and APRV T-PEFR to PEFR ratio of 75% (original magnification × 10). Alveoli are colored in yellow; nonalveolar tissue, red; B: Alveolar air space occupancy is expressed as a percentage of the photomicrograph containing inflated alveoli (yellow in A) at inspiration and expiration. Data are shown as the mean; error bars indicate standard error of the mean. ^aP < 0.05 for PEEP of 5 cmH₂O vs APRVT-PEFR to PEFR ratio of 10%; ^cP < 0.05 for PEEP of 16 cmH₂O vs APRV T-PEFR to PEFR ratio of 75%. Republished with permission from Ref[40].