Prone Positioning in Patients With Moderate and Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

The article presents information on a study which examined the possible outcome benefits of prone positioning in patients with moderate and severe hypoxemia who are affected by acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The multicenter, unblinded, randomized controlled trial was conducted in Italy and Spain from February 2004 through June 2008. The patients were randomly assigned to receive either supine or prone positioning during ventilation. Main outcome measures included mortality, intensive care unit discharge, organ dysfunctions and rate of complications associated with prone positioning. It concludes that prone positioning do not contribute to the survival of patients with ARDS or in patients with moderate and severe hypoxemia.