Fig. 4.

Neutrophilic infiltration and apoptotic cell counts in lung.

Mechanical ventilation promotes lung neutrophilic infiltration and apoptosis (## P < 0.05 compared with BAS group). LPS-instilled rats had higher lung neutrophil infiltration than saline-instilled rats (†† P < 0.05), but there were no differences in apoptosis rates. LPS-instilled rats receiving 7 cmH₂O PEEP presented lower levels of neutrophils than those receiving cmH₂O PEEP. Bars represent means ± SEM. ∗ P < 0.1 and ∗∗ P < 0.05 comparing 7 cmH₂O PEEP vs. 2 cmH₂O PEEP.