The aim of this study was to evaluate if a ‘protective’ (low-tidal/low-frequency) ventilation strategy can shorten the postoperative ventilation time and minimize acute lung injury in children with congenital heart disease (CHD) undergoing repair with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB).

This is a single-centre prospective, interventional study, including children with CHD under the age of 5 years, undergoing open-heart surgery with a CPB >60 min, in hypothermia, haemodynamically stable, and without evident genetic abnormalities. Assist-control ventilation (tidal volume of 4 ml/kg, 10 breaths/min, positive end-expiratory pressure 5 cmH₂O and FiO₂ 0.21) was applied in a cohort of patients during CPB. We compared clinical outcomes and in fully ventilated versus non-ventilated (control) patients. Propensity score was used to weigh ventilated and control groups to correct for the effect of other confounding clinical variables. Clinical and ventilation parameters and lung inflammatory biomarkers in tracheal aspirates were measured. The primary outcome was the postoperative intubation time of more or less than 48 h.

We included 140 children (53 ventilated, 87 non-ventilated) with different CHD. There were no deaths or adverse events in ventilated patients. Using a weighted generalized linear model, we found no sufficient evidence for an effect of intraoperative ventilation on postoperative intubation time [estimate 0.13 (95% confidence interval, –0.08; 0.35), P = 0.22].

Continuous low-tidal/low-frequency mechanical ventilation during CPB is safe and harmless. However, no significant advantages were found when compared to non-ventilated patients in terms of postoperative ventilation time.