Introduction:

Pulmonary distension pressure (ΔP) has been shown to be the physical variable that best correlates with survival in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome, suggesting a protective value <15 cmH2O.

Objective:

The purpose was to identify if the values ​​of ΔP as safety margin described are a prognostic factor of mortality, applied in obese patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome in the ICU.

Methods:

Longitudinal, prospective, observational study, carried out in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Bajío National Medical Center UMAE 1, Guanajuato, from January to July 2018. 47 patients> 18 years old and BMI> 30 were admitted. with diagnosis of ARDS under invasive mechanical ventilation. The ΔP and Pplat were recorded at 24, 48 and 72 hours after admission.

Results:

A significant difference was found in both ΔP and Pplat (p <0.05) at 24 hrs, being 14.08 ± 5 (12-20) in the group of survivors and 16.56 ± 3 (12-21) in non-survivors.

Conclusion:

It was observed that maintaining ΔP and Pplat in ranges <15 and <30 respectively, in the first 24 hrs has an impact on the mortality of these patients.