• Hong Li, Zhi-Nan Zheng, Nan-Rong Zhang, Jing Guo, Kai Wang, Wei Wang, Lin-Gui Li, Jing Jin, Jing Tang, Yao-Jun Liao, and San-Qing Jin.
• From the Department of Anaesthesia, the Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, No. 26 Yuancun Erheng Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, China (HL, Z-NZ, N-RZ, JG, KW, WW, L-GL, JJ, JT, Y-JL, S-QJ).
• Eur J Anaesthesiol. 2021 Oct 1; 38 (10): 104210511042-1051.

BackgroundThe role of the positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) and lung recruitment manoeuvre (LRM) combination (termed open-lung strategy, OLS) during intra-operative mechanical ventilation is not clear.ObjectiveTo determine whether an open-lung strategy constituting medium PEEP (6-8 cmH2O) and repeated LRMs protects against postoperative complications in at-risk patients undergoing laparoscopic colorectal cancer resection under low-tidal-volume ventilation.DesignA prospective, assessor-blinded, randomised controlled trial.SettingSingle university-affiliated hospital, conducted from January 2017 to October 2018.PatientsA total of 280 patients at risk of pulmonary complications, scheduled for laparoscopic colorectal cancer resection under general anaesthesia and low-tidal-volume (6-8 ml kg-1 predicted body weight) ventilation.InterventionThe patients were randomly assigned (1 : 1) to a PEEP of 6-8 cmH2O with LRMs repeated every 30 min (OLS group) or a zero PEEP without LRMs (non-OLS group).Main Outcome MeasuresThe primary outcome was a composite of major pulmonary and extrapulmonary complications occurring within 7 days after surgery. The secondary outcomes included intra-operative potentially harmful hypotension and the need for vasopressors.ResultsA total of 130 patients from each group were included in the primary outcome analysis. Primary outcome events occurred in 24 patients (18.5%) in the OLS group and 43 patients (33.1%) in the non-OLS group [relative risk, 0.46; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.26 to 0.82; P = 0.009). More patients in the OLS group developed potentially harmful hypotension (OLS vs. non-OLS, 15% vs. 4.3%; P = 0.004) and needed vasopressors (25% vs. 8.6%; P < 0.001).ConclusionAmong at-risk patients undergoing laparoscopic colorectal cancer resection under low-tidal-volume ventilation, an open-lung strategy with a PEEP of 6-8 cmH2O and repeated LRMs reduced postoperative complications compared with a strategy using zero PEEP without LRMs. Of note, LRMs should be used with caution in patients with haemodynamic instability.Trial RegistrationClinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT03160144.Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care.

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