The incidence of postoperative atelectasis was lower in patients undergoing either laparoscopic colectomy or robot-assisted prostatectomy who received pressure support ventilation during emergence from general anesthesia compared to those receiving intermittent manual assistance.

Ninety-seven patients were included in the analysis.

The duration of emergence was 9 min and 8 min in the pressure support and control groups, respectively.

The incidence of atelectasis at PACU was lower in the pressure support group compared to that in the control group.

The incidence of oxygen saturation measured by pulse oximetry less than 92% during 48 h postoperatively was not different between the groups.

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