High-frequency oscillatory ventilation: lessons from the neonatal/pediatric experience.

Efforts to minimize ventilator-induced lung injury in adults with hypoxemic respiratory failure have recently focused on the potential role of high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV). However, HFOV has been studied in newborns with hypoxemic respiratory failure for nearly 3 decades. In this brief review, we attempt to summarize key physiological principles learned from this cumulative neonatal/pediatric experience with HFOV.