São Paulo medical journal = Revista paulista de medicina
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Controlled Clinical Trial
Effects of prone position on the oxygenation of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome.
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is characterized by arterial hypoxemia, and prone position (PP) is one possible management strategy. The objective here was to evaluate the effects of PP on oxygenation. ⋯ For a significant number of ARDS patients, PP may rapidly enhance arterial oxygenation and its inclusion for management of severe ARDS is justified. However, it is not a cost-free maneuver and caution is needed in deciding on using PP.