Airway patency via positive pressure ventilation

"Airway patency via positive pressure ventilation" does not refer to a specific molecule, receptor, enzyme, transporter, or other canonical therapeutic target. Instead, it describes the physiological effect achieved by applying continuous or intermittent positive air pressure—typically through devices such as ventilators, CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure), BiPAP (Bi-level Positive Airway Pressure), or IPPB (Intermittent Positive Pressure Breathing)—to maintain open airways and support effective gas exchange in the lungs. This approach is used clinically to prevent upper airway collapse, recruit collapsed alveoli, improve oxygenation/ventilation efficiency, reduce work of breathing for patients with respiratory compromise such as pulmonary edema or COPD exacerbations, and avoid atelectasis. The mechanism involves creating an artificial gradient that keeps the airways open during both inspiration and expiration by maintaining higher-than-atmospheric pressures within the respiratory tract. While highly effective in many clinical scenarios—including acute respiratory failure—this method carries risks such as barotrauma from excessive pressures and hemodynamic effects due to altered intrathoracic dynamics.[3][4][5] Because "airway patency via positive pressure ventilation" is an intervention rather than a discrete biological entity at the molecular level—and thus cannot be targeted pharmacologically—it should not be classified as a therapeutic target in the conventional sense.

Other names

Positive pressure ventilation for airway patencyMaintenance of airway patency with positive pressureAirway support by positive pressure ventilation