Progress in prone position ventilation for therapy of ARDS

Mechanical ventilation is the main therapy for acute respiratory distress syndrome(ARDS).Prone position as an unconventional way of mechanical ventilation gets more attention in treatment of ARDS.Recently,many researches indicate that prone position could improve the oxygenation of ARDS patients significantly.But there is still an argument over the role of prone position in improving the prognosis of ARDS.This article mainly reviews the physiological effect of prone position,mechanism of oxygenation improvement,potential influencing factors and its relationship with lung injuries.