The Effect of Reconnection to Mechanical Ventilation for 1 Hour After Spontaneous Breathing Trial on Reintubation Among Patients Ventilated for More Than 12 Hours: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Two-year survival after scheduled extubation in patients with pneumonia or ARDS: a prospective observational study

PURPOSE

To report two-year survival after scheduled extubation in patients with pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

METHODS

This was a prospective observational study performed in a respiratory ICU of a teaching hospital. Pneumonia or ARDS patients who successfully completed a spontaneous breathing trial were enrolled. Data were collected before extubation. Patients were followed up to two years by phone every 3 months.

RESULTS

A total of 230 patients were enrolled in final analysis. One-, 3-, 6-, 12-, and 24-month survival was 77.4%, 63.8%, 61.3%, 57.8%, and 47.8%, respectively. Cox regression shows that Charlson comorbidity index (hazard ratio: 1.20, 95% confidence interval: 1.10-1.32), APACHE II score before extubation (1.11, 1.05-1.17), cough peak flow before extubation (0.993, 0.986-0.999), and extubation failure (3.96, 2.51-6.24) were associated with two-year mortality. To predict death within two years, the area under the curve of receiver operating characteristic was 0.79 tested by Charlson comorbidity index, 0.75 tested by APACHE II score, and 0.75 tested by cough peak flow. Two-year survival was 31% and 77% in patients with Charlson comorbidity index ≥ 1 and < 1, 28% and 62% in patients with APACHE II score ≥ 12 and < 12, and 64% and 17% in patients with cough peak flow > 58 and ≤ 58 L/min, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Comorbidity, disease severity, weak cough and extubation failure were associated with increased two-year mortality in pneumonia or ARDS patients who experienced scheduled extubation. It provides objective information to caregivers to improve decision-making process during hospitalization and post discharge.

Physiologic Effects of Reconnection to the Ventilator for 1 Hour Following a Successful Spontaneous Breathing Trial

BACKGROUND

Reconnection to the ventilator for 1 h following a successful spontaneous breathing trial (SBT) may reduce reintubation rates compared with direct extubation. However, the physiologic mechanisms leading to this effect are unclear.

RESEARCH QUESTION

Does reconnection to the ventilator for 1 h reverse alveolar derecruitment induced by SBT, and is alveolar derecruitment more pronounced with a T-piece than with pressure-support ventilation (PSV)?

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

This is an ancillary study of a randomized clinical trial comparing SBT performed with a T-piece or with PSV. Alveolar recruitment was assessed by using measurement of end-expiratory lung volume (EELV).

RESULTS

Of the 25 patients analyzed following successful SBT, 11 underwent SBT with a T-piece and 14 with PSV. At the end of the SBT, EELV decreased by -30% (95% CI, -37 to -23) compared with baseline prior to the SBT. This reduction was greater with a T-piece than with PSV: -43% (95% CI, -51 to -35) vs -20% (95% CI, -26 to -13); P < .001. Following reconnection to the ventilator for 1 h, EELV accounted for 96% (95% CI, 92 to 101) of baseline EELV and did not significantly differ from prior to the SBT (P = .104). Following 10 min of reconnection to the ventilator, EELV wasted at the end of the SBT was completely recovered using PSV (P = .574), whereas it remained lower than prior to the SBT using a T-piece (P = .010).

INTERPRETATION

Significant alveolar derecruitment was observed at the end of an SBT and was markedly more pronounced with a T-piece than with PSV. Reconnection to the ventilator for 1 h allowed complete recovery of alveolar derecruitment.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov; No.: NCT04227639; URL: www.

CLINICALTRIALS

gov.

FT-GAT: Graph neural network for predicting spontaneous breathing trial success in patients with mechanical ventilation

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Intensive care unit (ICU) physicians perform weaning procedures considering complex clinical situations and weaning protocols; however, liberating critical patients from mechanical ventilation (MV) remains challenging. Therefore, this study aims to aid physicians in deciding the early liberation of patients from MV by developing an artificial intelligence model that predicts the success of spontaneous breathing trials (SBT).

METHODS

We retrospectively collected data of 652 critical patients (SBT success: 641, SBT failure: 400) who received MV at the Chungbuk National University Hospital (CBNUH) ICU from July 2020 to July 2022, including mixed and trauma ICUs. Patients underwent SBTs according to the CBNUH weaning protocol or physician's decision, and SBT success was defined as extubation performed by the physician on the SBT day. Additionally, our dataset comprised 11 numerical and 2 categorical features that can be obtained for any ICU patient, such as vital signs and MV setting values. To predict SBT success, we analyzed tabular data using a graph neural network-based approach. Specifically, the graph structure was designed considering feature correlation, and a novel deep learning model, called feature tokenizer graph attention network (FT-GAT), was developed for graph analysis. FT-GAT transforms the input features into high-dimensional embeddings and analyzes the graph via the attention mechanism.

RESULTS

The quantitative evaluation results indicated that FT-GAT outperformed conventional models and clinical indicators by achieving the following model performance (AUROC): FT-GAT (0.80), conventional models (0.69-0.79), and clinical indicators (0.65-0.66) CONCLUSIONS: Through timely detection critical patients who can succeed in SBTs, FT-GAT can help prevent long-term use of MV and potentially lead to improvement in patient outcomes.

Effect of high-flow oxygen versus T-piece ventilation strategies during spontaneous breathing trials on weaning failure among patients receiving mechanical ventilation: a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

A spontaneous breathing trial (SBT) is used to determine whether patients are ready for extubation, but the best method for choosing the SBT strategy remains controversial. We investigated the effect of high-flow oxygen versus T-piece ventilation strategies during SBT on rates of weaning failure among patients receiving mechanical ventilation.

METHODS

This randomized clinical trial was conducted from June 2019 through January 2022 among patients receiving mechanical ventilation for ≥ 12 h who fulfilled the weaning readiness criteria at a single-center medical intensive care unit. Patients were randomized to undergo either T-piece SBT or high-flow oxygen SBT. The primary outcome was weaning failure on day 2, and the secondary outcomes were weaning failure on day 7, ICU and hospital length of stay, and ICU and in-hospital morality.

RESULTS

Of 108 patients (mean age, 67.0 ± 11.1 years; 64.8% men), 54 received T-piece SBT and 54 received high-flow oxygen SBT. Weaning failure on day 2 occurred in 5 patients (9.3%) in the T-piece group and 3 patients (5.6%) in the high-flow group (difference, 3.7% [95% CI, - 6.1-13.6]; p = 0.713). Weaning failure on day 7 occurred in 13 patients (24.1%) in the T-piece group and 7 patients (13.0%) in the high-flow group (difference, 11.1% [95% CI, - 3.4-25.6]; p = 0.215). A post hoc subgroup analysis showed that high-flow oxygen SBT was significantly associated with a lower rate of weaning failure on day 7 (OR, 0.17 [95% CI, 0.04-0.78]) among those patients intubated because of respiratory failure (p for interaction = 0.020). The ICU and hospital length of stay and mortality rates did not differ significantly between the two groups. During the study, no serious adverse events were recorded.

CONCLUSIONS

Among patients receiving mechanical ventilation, high-flow oxygen SBT did not significantly reduce the risk of weaning failure compared with T-piece SBT. However, the study may have been underpowered to detect a clinically important treatment effect for the comparison of high-flow oxygen SBT versus T-piece SBT, and a higher percentage of patients with simple weaning and a lower weaning failure rate than expected should be considered when interpreting the findings. Clinical trial registration This trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (number NCT03929328) on April 26, 2019.

To Wean or Not to Wean: A Practical Patient Focused Guide to Ventilator Weaning

Since the inception of critical care medicine and artificial ventilation, literature and research on weaning has transformed daily patient care in intensive care units (ICU). As our knowledge of mechanical ventilation (MV) improved, so did the need to study patient-ventilator interactions and weaning predictors. Randomized trials have evaluated the use of protocol-based weaning (vs. usual care) to study the duration of MV in ICUs, different techniques to conduct spontaneous breathing trials (SBT), and strategies to eventually extubate a patient whose initial SBT failed. Despite considerable milestones in the management of multiple diseases contributing to reversible respiratory failure, in the application of early rehabilitative interventions to preserve muscle integrity, and in ventilator technology that mitigates against ventilator injury and dyssynchrony, major barriers to successful liberation from MV persist. This review provides a broad encompassing view of weaning classification, causes of weaning failure, and evidence behind weaning predictors and weaning modes.