Influence of Position in Unilateral Lung Disease

To the Editor: In the February 26 issue Remolina et al. reported the effects of lateral position on gas exchange in patients with unilateral lung disease.¹ They concluded that the improvement in arterial oxygenation was of interest for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. We recently observed a similar effect in six patients with severe hypoxemia. In addition, our findings suggest that a bilateral localized lung disease such as bilateral lower-lobe pneumonia could be treated with this method. Five patients had bacterial pneumonia, and one had atelectasis. Lung involvement was unilateral in four patients and affected both lower lobes in two.