Luis Guilherme Borges

Weaning predictors do not predict extubation failure in simple-to-wean patients.

BACKGROUND Predictor indexes are often included in weaning protocols and may help the intensive care unit (ICU) staff to reach expected weaning outcome in patients on mechanical ventilation. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study is to evaluate the potential of weaning predictors during extubation. DESIGN This is a prospective clinical study. SETTINGS The study was conducted in 3 medical-surgical ICUs. PATIENTS Five hundred consecutive unselected patients ventilated for more than 48 hours were included. METHODS AND MEASUREMENTS All patients were extubated after 30 minutes of successful spontaneous breathing trial and followed up for 48 hours. The protocol evaluated hemodynamics, ventilation parameters, arterial blood gases, and the weaning indexes frequency to tidal volume ratio; compliance, respiratory rate, oxygenation, and pressure; maximal inspiratory pressure; maximal expiratory pressure; Pao(2)/fraction of inspired oxygen; respiratory frequency; and tidal volume during mechanical ventilation and in the 1st and 30th minute of spontaneous breathing trial. RESULTS Reintubation rate was 22.8%, and intensive care mortality was higher in the reintubation group (10% vs 31%; P < .0001). The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve showed that tests did not discriminate which patients could tolerate extubation. CONCLUSION Usual weaning indexes are poor predictors for extubation outcome in the overall ICU population.

Central venous saturation is a predictor of reintubation in difficult-to-wean patients.

Objective: To evaluate the predictive value of central venous saturation to detect extubation failure in difficult-to-wean patients. Design: Cohort, multicentric, clinical study. Setting: Three medical-surgical intensive care units. Patients: All difficult-to-wean patients (defined as failure to tolerate the first 2-hr T-tube trial), mechanically ventilated for >48 hrs, were extubated after undergoing a two-step weaning protocol (measurements of predictors followed by a T-tube trial). Extubation failure was defined as the need of reintubation within 48 hrs. Interventions: The weaning protocol evaluated hemodynamic and ventilation parameters, and arterial and venous gases during mechanical ventilation (immediately before T-tube trial), and at the 30th min of spontaneous breathing trial. Measurements and Main Results: Seventy-three patients were enrolled in the study over a 6-mo period. Reintubation rate was 42.5%. Analysis by logistic regression revealed that central venous saturation was the only variable able to discriminate outcome of extubation. Reduction of central venous saturation by >4.5% was an independent predictor of reintubation, with odds ratio of 49.4 (95% confidence interval 12.1–201.5), a sensitivity of 88%, and a specificity of 95%. Reduction of central venous saturation during spontaneous breathing trial was associated with extubation failure and could reflect the increase of respiratory muscles oxygen consumption. Conclusions: Central venous saturation was an early and independent predictor of extubation failure and may be a valuable accurate parameter to be included in weaning protocols of difficult-to-wean patients.

Impacto de um protocolo de desmame de ventilação mecânica na taxa de falha de extubação em pacientes de difícil desmame

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the predictive accuracy of clinical judgment alone can be improved by supplementing it with an objective weaning protocol as a decision support tool. METHODS: This was a multicenter prospective cohort study carried out at three medical/surgical ICUs. The study involved all consecutive difficult-to-wean ICU patients (failure in the first spontaneous breathing trial [SBT]), on mechanical ventilation (MV) for more than 48 h, admitted between January of 2002 and December of 2005. The patients in the protocol group (PG) were extubated after a T-piece weaning trial and were compared with patients who were otherwise extubated (non-protocol group, NPG). The primary outcome measure was reintubation within 48 h after extubation. RESULTS: We included 731 patients-533 (72.9%) and 198 (27.1%) in the PG and NPG, respectively. The overall reintubation rate was 17.9%. The extubation success rates in the PG and NPG were 86.7% and 69.6%, respectively (p < 0.001). There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of age, gender, severity score, or pre-inclusion time on MV. However, COPD was more common in the NPG than in the PG (44.4% vs. 17.6%; p < 0.001), whereas sepsis and being a post-operative patient were more common in the PG (23.8% vs. 11.6% and 42.4% vs. 26.4%, respectively; p < 0.001 for both). The time on MV after the failure in the first SBT was higher in the PG than in the NPG (9 ± 5 days vs. 7 ± 2 days; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In this sample of difficult-to-wean patients, the use of a weaning protocol improved the decision-making process, decreasing the possibility of extubation failure.

Utilização de equipamentos de ventilação não invasiva na traqueostomia: uma alternativa para alta da UTI?

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to assess the use of noninvasive ventilation devices in patients with prolonged weaning following tracheotomy. METHODS: We performed a retrospective observational study using data collected from the clinical records of tracheotomized patients diagnosed with prolonged weaning. The participants were hospitalized in the adult intensive care unit of Moinhos de Vento Hospital, Porto Alegre (RS) between December 2007 and December 2008. RESULTS: In the data collection period, 1,482 patients were admitted to the intensive care unit. In total, 126 patients underwent tracheotomies, and 26 of these patients met the inclusion criteria for participating in the study. The average age of the patients in our sample was 73 ± 12 years. In our sample, 57.7% of the participants were female, and 80.8% were admitted as a result of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. After the tracheotomy, the patients remained under mechanical ventilation for an average of 29.8 days. After the initiation of the experimental protocol, the tracheotomized patients remained under ventilation for an average of 53.5 days on a portable noninvasive device connected to the tracheotomy. There were three possible outcomes for the patients. They were discharged, were weaned from the noninvasive ventilation, or died in the intensive care unit or hospital ward. In total, 76.9% (20/26) of the patients were discharged from the intensive care unit, and 53.8% (14/26) of the patients were discharged from the hospital. CONCLUSION: The use of noninvasive portable ventilators connected to the tracheotomy may represent an alternative for discontinuing ventilationand discharging tracheotomized patients with prolonged ventilatory weaning from intensive care unit.

Mechanical ventilation weaning protocol improves medical adherence and results

Introduction: Implementation of a weaning protocol is related to better patient prognosis. However, new approaches may take several years to become the standard of care in daily practice. We conducted a prospective cohort study to investigate the effectiveness of a multifaceted strategy to implement a protocol to wean patients from mechanical ventilation (MV) and to evaluate the weaning success rate as well as practitioner adherence to the protocol. Methods: We investigated all consecutive MV‐dependent subjects admitted to a medical‐surgical intensive care unit (ICU) for > 24 h over 7 years. The multifaceted strategy consisted of continuing education of attending physicians and ICU staff and regular feedback regarding patient outcomes. The study was conducted in three phases: protocol development, protocol and multifaceted strategy implementation, and protocol monitoring. Data regarding weaning outcomes and physician adherence to the weaning protocol were collected during all phases. Results: We enrolled 2469 subjects over 7 years, with 1,943 subjects (78.7%) experiencing weaning success. Physician adherence to the protocol increased during the years of protocol and multifaceted strategy implementation (from 38% to 86%, p < 0.01) and decreased in the protocol monitoring phase (from 73.9% to 50.0%, p < 0.01). However, during the study years, the weaning success of all subjects increased (from 73.1% to 85.4%, p < 0.001). When the weaning protocol was evaluated step‐by‐step, we found high adherence for noninvasive ventilation use (95%) and weaning predictor measurement (91%) and lower adherence for control of fluid balance (57%) and daily interruption of sedation (24%). Weaning success was higher in patients who had undergone the weaning protocol compared to those who had undergone weaning based in clinical practice (85.6% vs. 67.7%, p < 0.001). Conclusions: A multifaceted strategy consisting of continuing education and regular feedback can increase physician adherence to a weaning protocol for mechanical ventilation. HIGHLIGHTSA multifaceted strategy consisting of continuing education and regular feedback can increase physician adherence to a weaning protocol for mechanical ventilation.There was good medical acceptance of the implementation of the protocol for some factors, including multidisciplinary guidance and education of the ICU staff; additionally, a weaning program was developed that included leadership, education, and supervision.

Effects of Mechanical Insufflation-Exsufflation on Airway Mucus Clearance Among Mechanically Ventilated ICU Subjects

BACKGROUND: Few studies have evaluated the effects of mechanical insufflation-exsufflation (MI-E) in subjects on mechanical ventilation. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of MI-E on airway mucus clearance among mechanically ventilated ICU subjects. METHODS: A randomized, parallel-group, open-label trial was conducted between June and November 2017 in a single, mixed ICU. Adult ICU subjects receiving mechanical ventilation for > 24 h with stable ventilatory and hemodynamic status were randomized to receive either standard respiratory physiotherapy alone (control group) or respiratory physiotherapy by using an MI-E device (intervention group). The primary outcome was the weight of aspirated airway mucus after study interventions. Secondary outcomes included variation in static lung compliance (ΔCL), airway resistance (ΔRaw), work of breathing (ΔWOB) in relation to the pre-intervention period, and hemodynamic and ventilator complications during the procedures. RESULTS: There were 90 subjects in each group. The mean ± SD weight of the aspirated airway mucus was higher in the intervention group than in the control group (2.42 ± 2.32 g vs 1.35 ± 1.56 g, P < .001). The ΔCL values in the intervention group were higher than those in the control group (1.76 ± 4.90 mL/cm H2O vs −0.57 ± 4.85 mL/cm H2O, P = .001). The ΔRaw and ΔWOB values were similar between the groups. No hemodynamic or ventilatory complications were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Among the general ICU subjects receiving mechanical ventilation, use of an MI-E device during respiratory physiotherapy resulted in a larger amount of airway mucus clearance than respiratory physiotherapy alone. (ClinicalTrials.gov registration NCT03178565.)