INCREASED BLOOD-PRESSURE DURING INVERSE RATIO VENTILATION IN 2 PATIENTS WITH ADULT-RESPIRATORY-DISTRESS-SYNDROME

Inverse ratio ventilation (IRV) is increasingly used in the supportive treatment of patients with hypoxemic respiratory failure. A recent st udy suggests that IRV reduces cardiac output with minimal effect on me an arterial pressure. We report two cases in which IRV led to reproduc ible increases in mean arterial pressure. Concomitant hemodynamic meas urements suggest that these responses occurred as a result of increase d vascular resistance.