Impact of positive end-expiratory pressure and recruitment maneuver on healthy lungs in dogs assessed by functional and anatomical monitoring methods.

Introduction: Atelectasis is a common occurrence during anesthesia, and positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) ventilation and recruitment maneuvers (RM) can be used to mitigate this. However, both techniques may be associated with side effects in healthy lungs, and close monitoring is indicated. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of PEEP and RM in healthy dogs and to compare functional lung monitoring methods by electrical impedance tomography (EIT), volumetric capnography (VCap), and blood gas analysis with the gold-standard anatomical monitoring provided by computed tomography (CT). Methods and materials: Nine healthy Beagle dogs underwent anesthesia and mechanical ventilation three times. After 35 min using zero end-expiratory pressure (ZEEP), CT images, VCap, EIT measurements, and arterial blood gas samples were taken. Thereafter, either (1) ZEEP was continued, (2) PEEP initiated or (3) an RM was performed followed by PEEP. Ten minutes after changing the ventilation mode all measurements were repeated. Only one ventilation mode was employed during each anesthesia. Results: During RM, we found a significant increase in the percentage of overaerated lung (V Conclusion: While RM may be effective in improving gas exchange, it appears to be not benign in healthy lungs, and PEEP might be the preferable strategy to avoid lung collapse during anesthesia. Functional monitoring - EIT, VCap, blood gas analysis - does not detect changes corresponding to anatomical findings on CT.