FI02 and acute respiratory distress syndrome definition during lung protective ventilation.

The article examines the effect of high FI02 levels on the course of Pa02/FI02 ratio (P/F) in lung protective mechanically ventilated patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome. According to the authors, P/F variation was responsible for two thirds of patients changing from the acute respiratory distress syndrome to the acute lung injury stage of the American-European Consensus Conference definition.