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Why ICU Patients are Lying Face Down
Proning is a simple and bizarre way to improve respiratory symptoms.
Thousands of ICU patients are receiving a simple treatment in hospitals throughout the world: They are being placed face-down on their hospital bed in a practice known as proning. This change in position is a powerful way to improve lung functionality in severely ill patients.
The Lungs and Gravity
The lungs are remarkably complex. As the primary interface for gas exchange in the body, the lungs are a dynamic organ that responds to minute changes in the internal and external environments to maximize oxygen transfer and carbon dioxide removal.
When a person breathes in, air is pulled through the airways into a network of microscopic sacs called alveoli. Waiting on the other side of a thin barrier within millions of capillaries are red blood cells lined up ready to receive the incoming oxygen.
Based on the demand, position, and health of the lungs, this network of blood vessels dilates and constricts to maximize gas transfer — all under the orchestration of hormone and nerve signals. In one breath, the lungs saturate the blood in the pulmonary system with oxygen to be transferred throughout the body to meet metabolic demands.
