The optimal PEEP after alveolar recruitment maneuver assessed by electrical impedance tomography in healthy horses.

The ARM by PEEP titration applied in the present study showed better ventilation distribution associated with better aeration in the dependent lung areas, with minimal overdistention between PEEP 17 and 12 cmHO decreasing step. Those changes were also followed by improvements in static and regional compliance associated with increased oxygenation and pulmonary ventilation. ARM promoted a transitory decrease in arterial blood pressure and depression in CI with a concomitant drop in oxygen delivery, which should be best investigated before its routine use in clinical cases.