Urner M, Jüni P, Hansen B, et al. - Via this registry-based, prospective cohort study, researchers sought to determine the correlation between exposure to different intensities of mechanical ventilation over time and intensive care unit (ICU) mortality in cases with acute respiratory failure. From the Toronto Intensive Care Observational Registry, they obtained records of 13,939 patients; of these, 13,408 (96·2%) were identified as eligible for descriptive analysis. After adjusting baseline characteristics, including age and severity of illness, they observed a significant rise in the hazard of death in correlation with each daily increment in driving pressure or mechanical power. Persistence of these correlations was noted over the duration of mechanical ventilation. Findings thereby suggest harmful effect of cumulative exposure to higher intensities of mechanical ventilation, even for short durations.