Controlled mechanical ventilation with constant positive end-expiratory pressure and alveolar recruitment manoeuvres during anaesthesia in laterally or dorsally recumbent horses

Ventilation with CMV, constant PEEP and interposed RM provided improved arterial oxygenation in horses in dorsal recumbency that lasted into the early recovery period, but had no benefit in horses in lateral recumbency. This mode of ventilation may provide a clinically practicable method of improving oxygenation in anaesthetized horses, especially in dorsal recumbency.