Usefulness of Pulmonary Compliance Determination in Patients Undergoing Artificial Respiration: Relationship of Pulmonary Compliance to Tidal Volume and Weaning from Mechanical Ventilation

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to clarify the usefulness of pulmonary compliance determination in patients undergoing artificial respiration. The relation of pulmonary compliance level used for weaning to tidal volume and to success/failure of weaning was investigated in 221 respiratory failure patients undergoing artificial respiration. The results indicated a significant positive correlation between pulmonary compliance and tidal volume. There were many cases of tidal volume below 5 ml/body weight when pulmonary compliance was less than 30 ml/cmH₂O. Furthermore, the pulmonary compliance cut-off value (32 ml/cmH₂O) used to judge success/failure of weaning showed high precision for discrimination. Because these results indicate a close relation of pulmonary compliance to tidal volume and success/failure of weaning, we believe the determination of pulmonary compliance to be a useful index in the assessment of patients undergoing artificial respiration.