Respiratory failure is a complex disease process whereby the underlying disease and therapeutic measures interact. The patient's outcome is determined by a variety of factors, including how we use therapeutic maneuvers such as mechanical ventilation for the prevention of complications, e.g., ventilator-associated pneumonia. This book is a comprehensive review of all aspects of acute respiratory failure, providing critical reviews of various topics related to respiratory failure and discussing the clinical evidence available for the diagnoses and management of patients with respiratory failure.

This book contains an extensive bibliographic review, focusing on preventive and therapeutic studies that were methodologically standardized, with authors assessing and classifying studies according to statutes of evidence-based medicine. It considers the epidemiology and outcome of mechanical ventilation; addresses ventilator modes and the utility of pulmonary mechanics monitoring for treatment; analyzes the physiologic effect and patient outcomes of pulmonary recruitment and lung protective ventilation procedures; describes complications that can be present in these patients, such as ventilator-associated pneumonia, and useful methods to prevent respiratory infections; covers the impact of bronchodilators, corticosteroids, and antibiotics in acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; discusses how, when, and in whom to perform tracheostomy; and evaluates the use of sedation and neuromuscular blockade, as well as current clinical trials in acute lung injury.

In summary, this book on the evidence-based management of patients with respiratory failure provides important information to improve patient outcomes by clearly identifying the research evidence that can be applied in daily clinical practice.