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Table 1 Causes of lung collapse in anaesthesia and atelectasis leads to increased neutrophil activation. This leads to an
critical care
inflammatory response causing localized lung injury alongside sys-
Obstructive temic and distant organ dysfunction due to systemic release of in-
Large airway obstruction flammatory mediators (cytokines, proteases, and reactive oxygen
Tumour: bronchial, metastatic
Inflammatory: tuberculosis, sarcoidosis species).3 It will therefore take time to resolve, unlike the usually
Other: foreign body, malpositioned tracheal tube fairly rapid resolution after uncomplicated GA and surgery.
Small airway obstruction
Mucus plugs
Inflammation Surfactant depletion
Bronchopneumonia, bronchitis, bronchiectasis Surfactant is a lipoprotein complex secreted by Type II alveolar
Impaired oxygenation
Atelectasis in the critical care setting Atelectasis can significantly affect systemic oxygenation by the loss
Atelectasis is a common cause of impaired gas exchange and X-ray of adequate ventilation to perfused lung units. This was first
opacification of lung regions in critically ill patients. It may be identified during GA and the effect was reversed by passive
encountered in the presence or absence of ALI. The incidence is hyperinflation.
likely to be high if the patient is immobile, has had a general anaes-
thetic, or if they have pre-existing lung disease, a smoking history, Increased pulmonary vascular resistance
obesity, or advanced age. Its pathophysiology is multifactorial: ob-
Regional hypoxia in atelectatic lung units leads to hypoxic pulmon-
structive, non-obstructive, or both. Most cases are likely to be multi-
ary vasoconstriction due to decreased alveolar and mixed venous
factorial in origin with prolonged immobility and infection probably
oxygen tension. If extensive, this phenomenon may lead to right
being the most common contributors.
ventricular dysfunction and increased microvascular fluid leakage in
susceptible patients.
Acute lung injury
Extensive evidence exists regarding the maintenance of lung volume
Clinical presentation
in the prevention of lung injury. Atelectasis in patients with ALI
differs from atelectasis related to GA. During lung injury, atelectasis This depends on the extent of atelectasis and rapidity with which it
is accompanied by inflammatory fluid filling up the alveoli and a develops. Small and slowly developing areas of collapse may be
phenomenon of cyclical collapse is seen. Also, repetitive lung asymptomatic or present as a non-productive cough. Rapidly
Continuing Education in Anaesthesia, Critical Care & Pain j Volume 14 Number 5 2014 237
Pulmonary atelectasis
Investigations
Chest X-ray
Direct signs Fig 1 Total lung collapse due to obstructive pathology causing a white out of
the right hemithorax. Note the trachea is pulled towards the collapsed lung.
These include:
† Increased opacification in the area of atelectasis. Air broncho-
grams are normally a feature of consolidation but may also be
present in lobar collapse.
† Displacement of fissures. This occurs with large degree of col-
lapse.
† Loss of aeration. If the collapsed lung is adjacent to the medias-
tinum or diaphragm, then loss of definition of these structures
indicates loss of aeration (the silhouette sign).
† Vascular signs. In partial collapse, crowding of vessels may be
seen.
Indirect signs
These include:
238 Continuing Education in Anaesthesia, Critical Care & Pain j Volume 14 Number 5 2014
Pulmonary atelectasis
posterior–anterior view. The right horizontal and oblique fissures compared with the RUL. It appears as a veil-like opacity
move towards each other leading to a wedge-shaped opacity on extending from the hilum and fading inferiorly. On the lateral
the lateral view. A chronically collapsed RML is often associated view, the major fissure displaces anteriorly and the lower lobe
with bronchiectasis and is known as RML syndrome. is hyper-expanded. LUL collapse also causes a hyper-expanded
† Right lower lobe (RLL) collapse (Fig. 5A and B) is seen as a superior segment of the left lower lobe (LLL), which is posi-
triangular opacity adjacent to the right heart border. There is tioned between the atelectatic upper lobe and the aortic arch in
obliteration of the right hemidiaphragm and it may appear half of cases. This gives the appearance of a crescent of aerated
elevated. However, the right heart border is clearly seen. On lung, called the Luftsichel sign (Fig. 6A).
lateral projection, the right hemidiaphragm outline is lost † LLL collapse (Fig. 7A and B) is seen as an increased retrocardiac
posteriorly and the lower thoracic vertebrae appear more dense. opacity, which silhouettes the left hemidiaphragm. On the lateral
† Left upper lobe (LUL) collapse (Fig. 6A and B). Owing to the view, the left hemidiaphragm outline is lost posteriorly and the
lack of a minor fissure, LUL collapse appears different lower thoracic vertebrae appear denser than normal.
Continuing Education in Anaesthesia, Critical Care & Pain j Volume 14 Number 5 2014 239
Pulmonary atelectasis
In clinical practice, particularly in the sicker patient, many of endobronchial lesions and any tumour spread, and differentiation of
these patterns of collapse can co-exist, and bibasal collapse is com- obstructive lesions from other forms of atelectasis.
monly seen after major anaesthesia and surgery, or in a critically ill
patient with impending respiratory failure. Ultrasound
† Rounded atelectasis. This unusual type of collapse appears as a Obstructive atelectasis on ultrasound shows as an area of homogen-
homogenous mass on a plain film. This is due to segmental or ous low echogenicity. An important role for ultrasound is to distin-
subsegmental atelectasis, and occurs secondary to visceral guish basal lung collapse from a loculated pleural effusion (Fig. 9).
pleural thickening and entrapment of lung tissue. An affected segment of collapse resembles liver (so-called hepatiza-
tion of the lung). Echogenic bands may be visible as a result of a
fluid bronchogram. No reinflation of the lung is seen during inhal-
CT scan ation. On using colour-flow Doppler, increased flow signals relative
to the liver are seen. Also the ‘lung pulse’ may be used as a dynamic
Atelectasis on CT has been defined as pixels with attenuation values lung ultrasound sign described as absent lung sliding with the per-
of 2100 to þ100 Hounsfield units. The Hounsfield unit is a ception of heart activity at the pleural line, associated with complete
measure of X-ray attenuation used in CT scan interpretation. It char- atelectasis (e.g. during endobronchial intubation).5
acterizes the relative density of a substance, that is, air: 21000, fat:
250, water: 0, muscle: þ40, calculus: þ100 to þ400, bone:
Other investigations
þ1000. Features of lobar collapse and effusions are more obvious
on CT than plain radiographs (Fig. 8) and it is useful for more atyp- These include bronchoscopy, thoracoscopy, and open surgery, but
ical forms of collapse. CT aids identification and localization of these are often more treatment based than purely for diagnosis.
240 Continuing Education in Anaesthesia, Critical Care & Pain j Volume 14 Number 5 2014
Pulmonary atelectasis
Continuing Education in Anaesthesia, Critical Care & Pain j Volume 14 Number 5 2014 241
Pulmonary atelectasis
spontaneous breaths in longer cases rather that have a patient fully Postoperative period
paralysed is unknown. Overall, ventilation strategies should follow Atelectasis is one of the most common pulmonary complications in
those advocated in critical care (see below) with limited tidal the postoperative period, although it is often clinically insignificant.
volumes and peak inspiratory pressures.7 The altered compliance of lung tissue, impaired regional ventilation,
Recruitment of atelectasis should be attempted if it is suspected and retained airway secretions contribute to the development of atel-
clinically or in high-risk patients. Research has shown that recruit- ectasis. Postoperative pain interferes with spontaneous deep breath-
ment of lung units follows a Gaussian distribution; hence, different ing and coughing resulting in decreases in FRC, leading to
units recruit at different pressures, range 10 –45 cm H2O. In addition atelectasis. In addition to general measures, a variety of lung expan-
to this critical opening pressure, lung recruitment requires time to sion exercises may reduce postoperative pulmonary complications in
allow the delivered gas volume to redistribute. selected patients, including chest physical therapy, deep breathing
Suggested recruitment manoeuvres include: exercises, incentive spirometry, intermittent positive pressure
breathing, and CPAP. Good postoperative pain control may help to
† Vital capacity manoeuvre using an inflation pressure of 40 cm minimize postoperative pulmonary complications by enabling
H2O sustained for 10 –15 s. earlier ambulation and improving the patient’s ability to take deep
† Increasing PEEP to 15 cm H2O and then increasing tidal breaths.8
volumes to achieve peak inspiratory pressure of 40 cm H2O for
10 breaths before then returning to standard ventilator settings.
Management in critical care
Higher levels of PEEP are generally not beneficial as the shunt does
not improve due to redistribution of blood flow in the lung, and the Treatment of atelectasis in critically ill patients differs from anaes-
high intra-thoracic pressure leads to decreased venous return and thesia in that there is commonly a presence of background ALI or in-
haemodynamic compromise. fection. The ‘open-lung’ approach to ventilating patients with severe
242 Continuing Education in Anaesthesia, Critical Care & Pain j Volume 14 Number 5 2014
Pulmonary atelectasis
ALI consists of recruitment manoeuvres with high sustained airway point on the pressure –volume curve is suggested to decrease mortal-
pressures to open atelectatic alveoli, followed by application of ity, length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay, and days on ventilator.9
PEEP to maintain alveolar patency.
Continuing Education in Anaesthesia, Critical Care & Pain j Volume 14 Number 5 2014 243
Pulmonary atelectasis
Table 2 Other strategies which may be used in the management of artificial ventilation
in patients with atelectasis. FRC, functional residual capacity
strategies are more likely to be used in ICUs and are not commonly
required or used in theatre. There is no strong evidence to support
the application of these techniques and so their use should be pre-
ceded by an individual risk –benefit analysis for each patient.
Conclusion
Atelectasis is commonly encountered in the perioperative and critic-
al care settings and may lead to hypoxaemia and respiratory failure.
Fig 9 Lung ultrasound. There is a large pleural effusion causing underlying
lung collapse. Timely diagnosis and management is crucial for a good outcome.
Prevention is better than cure when dealing with patients at high risk
of developing atelectasis.
Muscle tone during artificial ventilation can also affect gas ex-
change. Allowing spontaneous breathing up to 10 –20% of total ven-
tilation improves gas exchange by redistribution of ventilation and Acknowledgement
end-expiratory gas to dependent areas, thus promoting alveolar re-
The authors would like to thank Medical illustration at St James
cruitment. This can be achieved with airway pressure release ventila-
Hospital Leeds for producing the line diagrams.
tion or biphasic positive airway pressure.11
High-frequency oscillation ventilation (HFOV) may be consid-
ered and facilitates lung inflation and recruitment by maintaining Declaration of interest
mean airway pressure at a constant elevated level while using a
piston to cycle the ventilation rate at several hundred times per We thank Medical illustration at St James Hospital Leeds for produ-
minute. This results in tidal volumes that are smaller than the cing the line diagrams.
anatomical dead space of lungs with the potential to reduce
volutrauma-related lung injury. HFOV minimizes cyclical alveolar
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