Introduction:

Postoperative complications at the respiratory level are a cause of morbidity and mortality, particularly when they develop acute respiratory distress syndrome and require mechanical ventilation; one of the methods used for patients who do not respond to conventional ventilatory management is the prone position, however, there is little evidence on prone ventilation in abdominal surgical patients.

Material and methods:

A cohort of patients ventilated in prone was reviewed to analyze the behavior of pulmonary shunts and the PaO2/FiO2 index before, during and after prone ventilation.

Results:

A significant decrease in pulmonary shunts was observed after 48 hours, while the increase in PaO2/FiO2 was significant after 12 hours of prone; no serioud adverse events were recorded during pronation.

Conclusions:

The prone position is a safe ventilatory maneuver that provides a therapeutic option in patients refractory to conventional management, even during abdominal post-surgery.