Critical Care October 2005 Vol 9 No 5 Grinnan and Truwit Review Clinical review: Respiratory mechanics in spontaneous and assisted ventilation Daniel C Grinnan1 and Jonathon Dean Truwit2 1Fellow, Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care, University of Virginia Health System, Virginia, USA 2E Cato Drash Professor of Medicine, Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs, Chief, Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care, University of Virginia Health System, Virginia, USA Corresponding author: Daniel C Grinnan,
[email protected] Published online: 18 April 2005 Critical Care 2005, 9:472-484 (DOI 10.1186/cc3516) This article is online at http://ccforum.com/content/9/5/472 © 2005 BioMed Central Ltd Abstract mined by the following equation: C = ∆V/∆P, where C is ∆ ∆ Pulmonary disease changes the physiology of the lungs, which compliance, V is change in volume, and P is change in manifests as changes in respiratory mechanics. Therefore, measure- pressure. The inverse of compliance is elastance (E ~ 1/C). ment of respiratory mechanics allows a clinician to monitor closely Airway pressure during inflation is influenced by volume, the course of pulmonary disease. Here we review the principles of thoracic (lung and chest wall) compliance, and thoracic respiratory mechanics and their clinical applications. These resistance to flow. Resistance to flow must be eliminated if principles include compliance, elastance, resistance, impedance, compliance is to be measured accurately. This is flow, and work of breathing. We discuss these principles in normal conditions and in disease states. As the severity of pulmonary accomplished by measuring pressure and volume during a disease increases, mechanical ventilation can become necessary.