Postural Recruitment Maneuver in Patients With Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Due to COVID-19 Infection

Prior to initiating the protocol, patients will be sedated deeply with sedatives and opioids and paralyzed. Patients will be evaluated in 5 positions sequentially: 1) Supine 2) Left lateral 3) Supine 4) Right lateral 5) Supine. The side with the least ventilation evaluated by EIT will define which side will start the sequence. Each step will last 30 minutes. Aeration measured by Electric Impedance Tomography (EIT) and lung ultrasound, distribution of the lung ventilation and perfusion measured by EIT, ventilator and hemodynamic parameters, esophageal pressure, and blood gas analysis will be recorded at the end of each step. Continuous monitoring of blood pressure, heart rate and saturation of arterial blood (SpO2) will be carried out during all steps of the protocol to assess the tolerance to the procedure.