Annals of Intensive Care (Aug 2019)
Electrical impedance tomography during spontaneous breathing trials and after extubation in critically ill patients at high risk for extubation failure: a multicenter observational study
Abstract
Abstract Background This study aims to assess the changes in lung aeration and ventilation during the first spontaneous breathing trial (SBT) and after extubation in a population of patients at risk of extubation failure. Methods We included 78 invasively ventilated patients eligible for their first SBT, conducted with low positive end-expiratory pressure (2 cm H2O) for 30 min. We acquired three 5-min electrical impedance tomography (EIT) records at baseline, soon after the beginning (SBT_0) and at the end (SBT_30) of SBT. In the case of SBT failure, ventilation was reinstituted; otherwise, the patient was extubated and two additional records were acquired soon after extubation (SB_0) and 30 min later (SB_30) during spontaneous breathing. Extubation failure was defined by the onset of post-extubation respiratory failure within 48 h after extubation. We computed the changes from baseline of end-expiratory lung impedance (∆EELI), tidal volume (∆Vt%), and the inhomogeneity index. Arterial blood was sampled for gas analysis. Data were compared between sub-groups stratified for SBT and extubation success/failure. Results Compared to SBT success (n = 61), SBT failure (n = 17) showed a greater reduction in ∆EELI at SBT_0 (p 0.05 for all comparisons). Conclusions Compared to SBT success, SBT failure was characterized by more lung de-recruitment and inhomogeneity. Whether EIT may be useful to monitor SBT remains to be determined. No significant changes in lung ventilation, aeration or homogeneity related to extubation outcome occurred up to 30 min after extubation. Trial registration Retrospectively registered on clinicaltrials.gov (Identifier: NCT03894332; release date 27th March 2019).
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