Driving pressure association with mortality in post-lung transplant patients: A prospective observational study

Abstract

Objective To investigate the association between driving pressure (ΔP) and 90-day mortality in patients following lung transplantation (LTx) in patients who developed primary graft dysfunction (PGD). Methods This prospective, observational study involved consecutive patients who, following LTx, were admitted to our intensive care unit (ICU) from January 2022 to January 2023. Patients were separated into two groups according to ΔP at time of admission (i.e., low, ≤15 cmH 2 O or high, >15 cmH 2 O). Postoperative outcomes were compared between groups. Results In total, 104 patients were involved in the study, and of these, 69 were included in the low ΔP group and 35 in the high ΔP group. Kaplan-Meier analysis of 90-day mortality showed a statistically significant difference between groups with survival better in the low ΔP group compared with the high ΔP group. According to Cox proportional regression model, the variables independently associated with 90-day mortality were ΔP and pneumonia. Significantly more patients in the high ΔP group than the low ΔP group had PGD grade 3 (PGD3), pneumonia, required tracheostomy, and had prolonged postoperative extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) time, postoperative ventilator time, and ICU stay. Conclusions Driving pressure appears to have the ability to predict PGD3 and 90-day mortality of patients following LTx. Further studies are required to confirm our results.