Critical ultrasound journal
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When intracranial hypertension and severe lung damage coexist in the same clinical scenario, their management poses a difficult challenge, especially as concerns mechanical ventilation management. The needs of combined lung and brain protection from secondary damage may conflict, as ventilation strategies commonly used in patients with ARDS are potentially associated with an increased risk of intracranial hypertension. ⋯ Lung ultrasound (LUS) and brain ultrasound (BUS, as a combination of optic nerve sheath diameter assessment and cerebrovascular Doppler ultrasound) have independently proven their potential in respectively monitoring lung aeration and brain physiology at the bedside. In this narrative review, we describe how the combined use of LUS and BUS on neurocritical patients with demanding mechanical ventilation needs can contribute to ventilation management, with the aim of a tailored "brain-protective ventilation strategy."