ARDS and Prone

positioning

BY- DR ASHIYAN IRFAN

Physiological effects of prone positioning
The effects of prone positioning on gas exchange result
from a redistribution of lung ventilation and pulmonary
perfusion. Indeed, in any body position, regional lung
ventilation and pulmonary blood flow are influenced by
the gravitational field of the earth. When we apply prone
positioning to a patients, we reverse the vector of this
gravitational force, with major consequences on inflation
and perfusion distribution.