Chugh 2012.

Methods	RCT with parallel groups Approved by the institutional ethical committee and written informed consents obtained from all participants Site: University College of Medical Sciences, Delhi, India Setting: university hospital Dates of data collection: unspecified
Participants	60 adults with intestinal perforation peritonitis‐induced sepsis scheduled for emergency laparotomy
Interventions	Treatment group: tidal volume 6 mL/kg (IBW) and PEEP 10 cmH2O (n = 30) Control group: tidal volume 10 mL/kg (IBW) and no PEEP (n = 30) In both groups, respiratory rate was varied to maintain eucapnia
Outcomes	Relevant to this review Hospital length of stay Mortality at 30 days (in hospital for a mean hospital length of stay of 9 days) Others Multiple organ dysfunction/failure (maximum sepsis‐related organ failure assessment score) Plasma levels of interleukin‐6 and tumour necrosis factor α Minute ventilation End‐tidal carbon dioxide Intraoperative haemodynamic parameters Duration of mechanical ventilation
Notes	Funding: unspecified Declaration of interest: none mentioned Conference abstract Volume per body weight: IBW, no further details
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Low risk	Quote: "computer generated random number table"
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Not mentioned
Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias) All outcomes	Unclear risk	Quote: "double‐blind." Details of blinding not provided
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes	Low risk	Quote: "double‐blind." Details of blinding not provided
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	Low risk	No loss to follow‐up
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	Low risk	All results reported
Other bias	Low risk	Baseline characteristics were similar in both groups.