Van Dessel et al. Flow-controlled ventilation in moderate acute respiratory distress syndrome due to COVID-19: an open-label repeated-measures controlled trial. Intens Care Med Exp. 2022

This study represents the first prospective repeated-measures trial in 10 patients with moderate ARDS from Covid-19, with the aim to evaluate the effect of FCV on ventilation parameters compared to VCV. Patients received a ventilation sequence of PCV (baseline), followed by 30 minutes FCV and VCV. Ventilation settings were aimed to be kept comparable between the ventilation modes. All patients were adequately ventilated during FCV and no adverse events were recorded, demonstrating the feasibility of FCV for short-term ventilation of ARDS patients. No significant differences in P/F ratio or arterial O₂ values were observed between the tw ventilation modes. However, with similar arterial CO₂ values, the applied minute volume was significantly (16%) lower during FCV compared to VCV (6.6 L/min vs VCV 7.9 L/min; P=0.01), indicating a higher ventilation efficiency with FCV.