ALIVE: Assessing Lung Inhomogeneity During Ventilation for Acute Hypoxemic Respiratory Failure

Sponsor
University Health Network, Toronto (Other)
Overall Status
Completed
CT.gov ID
NCT03589482
Collaborator
(none)
20
1
2
30
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Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

Mechanical ventilation can cause damage by overstretching the lungs, especially when the lungs are collapsed or edematous. Raising ventilator pressures can reduce lung collapse and this can prevent overstretching from mechanical ventilation. It remains uncertain how much pressure (PEEP - positive end-expiratory pressure) should be used on the ventilator and how to identify patients who will benefit from higher ventilator pressures vs. lower ventilator pressures. The investigators are using a unique new imaging technology, electrical impedance tomography (EIT), to study this problem and to determine the safest and most effective ventilator pressure level. The results of this study will inform future trials of higher vs. lower PEEP strategies in mechanically ventilated patients.

Condition or Disease Intervention/Treatment Phase
  • Device: Electrical Impedance Tomography
  • Other: ExPRESS-derived PEEP level
N/A

Detailed Description

Patients participating in this physiological cross-over randomized trial will undergo a series of PEEP maneuvers designed to assess lung recruitability, PEEP responsiveness, and optimal PEEP. EIT imaging and esophageal manometry will be employed throughout the protocol to quantify the effect of PEEP on lung function. Patients will be randomized to be ventilated at PEEP levels supplied by the ExPRESS strategy or by the EIT hyperdistention/collapse algorithm. The biological response will be assessed by measuring serum cytokines.

Study Design

Study Type:
Interventional
Actual Enrollment :
20 participants
Allocation:
Randomized
Intervention Model:
Parallel Assignment
Masking:
None (Open Label)
Primary Purpose:
Treatment
Official Title:
Assessing Lung Inhomogeneity During Ventilation for Acute Hypoxemic Respiratory Failure
Actual Study Start Date :
Mar 1, 2019
Actual Primary Completion Date :
Mar 31, 2021
Actual Study Completion Date :
Aug 31, 2021

Arms and Interventions

Arm Intervention/Treatment
Experimental: EIT algorithm

Patients randomized to this arm will be ventilated at the PEEP level selected by the EIT algorithm, which selects a PEEP at which both collapse and hyperdistention are minimized.

Device: Electrical Impedance Tomography
Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is a new technique that enables real-time visualization of the distribution of ventilation at the bedside. This technique allows clinicians and investigators to immediately determine how applying higher or lower PEEP levels affect stress and strain in the lung. The investigators propose to apply this new technique to test a strategy for finding the optimal level of PEEP that prevents lung injury and improves outcomes in critically ill patients.

Active Comparator: ExPRESS algorithm

Patients randomized to this arm will be ventilated at the PEEP level selected by the ExPRESS algorithm, which is a method that targets a tidal volume of 6 ml/kg predicted body weight and then titrates PEEP until plateau airway pressure reaches 28 cm H2O.

Other: ExPRESS-derived PEEP level
The ExPRESS algorithm is a traditional approach to selecting PEEP based on respiratory mechanics.

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

  1. Intratidal ventilation heterogeneity [Assessed after completion of 3 hours on randomized strategy (EIT vs ExPRESS)]

    A measure of variation in the distribution of ventilation throughout the lung as detected by electrical impedance tomography

Secondary Outcome Measures

  1. Difference in the optimal PEEP levels identified by several different PEEP titration strategies [Assessed immediately after completion of decremental PEEP titration procedure]

    Compare the relative degree of agreement or disparity between PEEP levels recommended by different PEEP titration strategies

  2. Change in ratio of partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) to inspired fraction of oxygen (FiO2) ratio following a standardized increased in PEEP [Assessed 10 minutes after step PEEP increase from 6-8 to 16-18 cm H2O]

    Measurement of changes in oxygenation by PaO2/FiO2 ratio due to PEEP

  3. Respiratory mechanics (transpulmonary driving pressure) [Assessed after completing 3 hours on the randomized PEEP strategy (EIT vs ExPRESS)]

    The swing in transpulmonary pressure during inspiration, a measure of dynamic lung stress

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:
18 Years and Older
Sexes Eligible for Study:
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
No
Inclusion Criteria:
  • Acute (≤7 days) hypoxemia with PaO2:FiO2 ratio less than or equal to 200 mm Hg

  • Oral endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation

  • Bilateral airspace opacities on chest radiograph or CT

Exclusion Criteria:
  • Contraindication to EIT electrode placement (burns, chest wall bandaging limiting electrode placement)

  • Contraindication to esophageal catheter placement (recent upper GI surgery, actively bleeding esophageal varices)

  • Respiratory failure predominantly due to cardiogenic cause or fluid overload

  • Ongoing hemodynamic instability (requiring 2 vasopressor agents by continuous infusion AND rising vasopressor infusion rate requirements in the previous 8 hours)

  • Ongoing ventilatory instability (P/F < 70 mm Hg, pH < 7.2; ventilator driving pressures, PEEP, or FiO2 increasing by more than 25% in previous 30 minutes)

  • Intracranial hypertension (suspected or diagnosed by medical team)

  • Known or suspected pneumothorax recognized within previous 72 hours

  • Bronchopleural fistula

  • Bridge to lung transplant

  • Recent lung transplantation (within previous 6 weeks)

  • Attending physician deems the transient application of high airway pressures (>40 cm H2O) to be unsafe

Contacts and Locations

Locations

Site City State Country Postal Code
1 University Health Network Toronto Ontario Canada M5G 2N2

Sponsors and Collaborators

  • University Health Network, Toronto

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Ewan Goligher, MD, PhD, University Health Network, Toronto

Study Documents (Full-Text)

None provided.

More Information

Publications

None provided.
Responsible Party:
University Health Network, Toronto
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
NCT03589482
Other Study ID Numbers:
  • 17-6226
First Posted:
Jul 18, 2018
Last Update Posted:
Sep 29, 2021
Last Verified:
Aug 1, 2020
Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement:
No
Plan to Share IPD:
No
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product:
No
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product:
No
Additional relevant MeSH terms:

Study Results

No Results Posted as of Sep 29, 2021