Objective The positioning of a patient in bed may directly affect their respiratory
mechanics. The objective of this study was to evaluate the respiratory mechanics
of mechanically ventilated patients positioned with different head angles
hospitalized in an intensive care unit.Methods This was a prospective physiological study in which static and dynamic
compliance, resistive airway pressure, and peripheral oxygen saturation were
measured with the head at four different positions (0° = P1, 30° = P2, 45° = P3,
and 60° = P4). Repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) with a Bonferroni
post-test and Friedman analysis were used to compare the values obtained at the
different positions.Results A comparison of the 35 evaluated patients revealed that the resistive airway
pressure values in the 0° position were higher than those obtained when patients
were positioned at greater angles. The elastic pressure analysis revealed that the
60° position produced the highest value relative to the other positions. Regarding
static compliance, a reduction in values was observed from the 0° position to the
60° position. The dynamic compliance analysis revealed that the 30° angle produced
the greatest value compared to the other positions. The peripheral oxygen
saturation showed little variation, with the highest value obtained at the 0°
position.ConclusionThe highest dynamic compliance value was observed at the 30° position, and the
highest oxygenation value was observed at the 0° position.