Predicted Body Weight May Be Too High for Many Critically Ill Women: New Evidence Challenges a Core Assumption in Lung-Protective Ventilation

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A pooled analysis of 30,516 mechanically ventilated critically ill patients found that, at the same tidal volume normalized to predicted body weight, female patients had a higher risk of elevated driving pressure than male patients.

Female patients also had smaller CT-measured anatomical and aerated lung volumes at the same predicted body weight, supporting the concern that the conventional predicted body weight equation may overestimate effective lung size in women.