Obtaining definitive control of the airway, when indicated, is the responsibility of the emergency medicine physician. Traditionally patients were managed on the ventilator with lung volumes of 10 – 15 ml/kg.

However, that practice is long-outdated and patients managed on lower tidal volumes (6 ml/kg) were found to have decreased mortality.

This practice of lower tidal volumes has been termed “lung protective ventilation” (LPV) and is now the standard of care for patients receiving mechanical ventilation.

Ventilator-associated lung injury and inflammation can occur even during short-term mismanagement can worsen patient outcomes.

Finally the settings initiated early in a patient’s care are often carried forward unchanged into their hospital and ICU stay.

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