Comparison of Changes in PPV Using a Tidal Volume Challenge with a Passive Leg Raising Test to Predict Fluid Responsiveness in Patients Ventilated Using Low Tidal Volume

Effect of different targets of goal-directed fluid therapy on intraoperative hypotension and fluid infusion in robot-assisted laparoscopic gynecological surgery: a randomized non-inferiority trial

Carotid corrected flow time (FTc) and tidal volume challenge pulse pressure variation (VtPPV) are useful clinical parameters for assessing volume status and fluid responsiveness in robot-assisted surgery, but their usefulness as goal-directed fluid therapy (GDFT) targets is unclear. We investigated whether FTc or VtPPV as targets are inferior to PPV in GDFT. This single-center, prospective, randomized, non-inferiority study included 133 women undergoing robot-assisted laparoscopic gynecological surgery in the modified head-down lithotomy position. Patients were equally divided into three groups, and the GDFT protocol was guided by FTc, VtPPV, or PPV during surgery. Primary outcomes were non-inferiority of the time-weighted average of hypotension, intraoperative fluid volume, and urine output. Secondary outcomes were optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) pre- and post-operatively and creatinine and blood urea nitrogen preoperatively and on day 1 post-operatively. No significant differences were observed in intraoperative hypotension index, infusion and urine volumes, and ONSD post-operatively between the FTc and VtPPV groups and the PPV group. No differences in serum creatinine and urea nitrogen levels were identified between the FTc and VtPPV groups preoperatively, but on day 1 post-operatively, the urea nitrogen level in the FTc group was higher than that in the PPV group (4.09 ± 1.28 vs. 3.0 ± 1.1 mmol/L, 1.08 [0.59, 1.58], p < 0.0001), and the difference from the preoperative value was smaller than that in the PPV group (- 2 [- 2.97, 1.43] vs. - 1.34 [- 1.9, - 0.67], p = 0.004). FTc- or VtPPV-guided protocols are not inferior to that of PPV in GDFT during robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery in the modified head-down lithotomy position.Trial registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2200064419).

Fluid challenge in critically ill patients receiving haemodynamic monitoring: a systematic review and comparison of two decades

Introduction

Fluid challenges are widely adopted in critically ill patients to reverse haemodynamic instability. We reviewed the literature to appraise fluid challenge characteristics in intensive care unit (ICU) patients receiving haemodynamic monitoring and considered two decades: 2000–2010 and 2011–2021.

Methods

We assessed research studies and collected data regarding study setting, patient population, fluid challenge characteristics, and monitoring. MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane search engines were used. A fluid challenge was defined as an infusion of a definite quantity of fluid (expressed as a volume in mL or ml/kg) in a fixed time (expressed in minutes), whose outcome was defined as a change in predefined haemodynamic variables above a predetermined threshold.

Results

We included 124 studies, 32 (25.8%) published in 2000–2010 and 92 (74.2%) in 2011–2021, overall enrolling 6,086 patients, who presented sepsis/septic shock in 50.6% of cases. The fluid challenge usually consisted of 500 mL (76.6%) of crystalloids (56.6%) infused with a rate of 25 mL/min. Fluid responsiveness was usually defined by a cardiac output/index (CO/CI) increase ≥ 15% (70.9%). The infusion time was quicker (15 min vs 30 min), and crystalloids were more frequent in the 2011–2021 compared to the 2000–2010 period.

Conclusions

In the literature, fluid challenges are usually performed by infusing 500 mL of crystalloids bolus in less than 20 min. A positive fluid challenge response, reported in 52% of ICU patients, is generally defined by a CO/CI increase ≥ 15%. Compared to the 2000–2010 decade, in 2011–2021 the infusion time of the fluid challenge was shorter, and crystalloids were more frequently used.

Prediction of fluid responsiveness. What’s new?

Although the administration of fluid is the first treatment considered in almost all cases of circulatory failure, this therapeutic option poses two essential problems: the increase in cardiac output induced by a bolus of fluid is inconstant, and the deleterious effects of fluid overload are now clearly demonstrated. This is why many tests and indices have been developed to detect preload dependence and predict fluid responsiveness. In this review, we take stock of the data published in the field over the past three years. Regarding the passive leg raising test, we detail the different stroke volume surrogates that have recently been described to measure its effects using minimally invasive and easily accessible methods. We review the limits of the test, especially in patients with intra-abdominal hypertension. Regarding the end-expiratory occlusion test, we also present recent investigations that have sought to measure its effects without an invasive measurement of cardiac output. Although the limits of interpretation of the respiratory variation of pulse pressure and of the diameter of the vena cava during mechanical ventilation are now well known, several recent studies have shown how changes in pulse pressure variation itself during other tests reflect simultaneous changes in cardiac output, allowing these tests to be carried out without its direct measurement. This is particularly the case during the tidal volume challenge, a relatively recent test whose reliability is increasingly well established. The mini-fluid challenge has the advantage of being easy to perform, but it requires direct measurement of cardiac output, like the classic fluid challenge. Initially described with echocardiography, recent studies have investigated other means of judging its effects. We highlight the problem of their precision, which is necessary to evidence small changes in cardiac output. Finally, we point out other tests that have appeared more recently, such as the Trendelenburg manoeuvre, a potentially interesting alternative for patients in the prone position.