RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Internal redistribution of gas, referred to as pendelluft, is a new potential mechanism of effort-dependent lung injury. Neurally-adjusted ventilatory assist (NAVA) and proportional assist ventilation (PAV +) follow the patient's respiratory effort and improve synchrony compared with pressure support ventilation (PSV). Whether these modes could prevent the development of pendelluft compared with PSV is unknown. We aimed to compare pendelluft magnitude during PAV + and NAVA versus PSV in patients with resolving acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). METHODS: Patients received either NAVA, PAV + , or PSV in a crossover trial for 20-min using comparable assistance levels after controlled ventilation (> 72 h). We assessed pendelluft (the percentage of lost volume from the non-dependent lung region displaced to the dependent region during inspiration), drive (as the delta esophageal swing of the first 100 ms [ΔPes 100 ms]) and inspiratory effort (as the esophageal pressure-time product per minute [PTPmin]). We performed repeated measures analysis with post-hoc tests and mixed-effects models. RESULTS: Twenty patients mechanically ventilated for 9 [5-14] days were monitored. Despite matching for a similar tidal volume, respiratory drive and inspiratory effort were slightly higher with NAVA and PAV + compared with PSV (ΔPes 100 ms of -2.8 [-3.8--1.9] cm H2O, -3.6 [-3.9--2.4] cm H2O and -2.1 [-2.5--1.1] cm H2O, respectively, p < 0.001 for both comparisons; PTPmin of 155 [118-209] cm H2O s/min, 197 [145-269] cm H2O s/min, and 134 [93-169] cm H2O s/min, respectively, p < 0.001 for both comparisons). Pendelluft magnitude was higher in NAVA (12 ± 7%) and PAV + (13 ± 7%) compared with PSV (8 ± 6%), p < 0.001. Pendelluft magnitude was strongly associated with respiratory drive (ß = -2.771, p-value < 0.001) and inspiratory effort (ß = 0.026, p < 0.001), independent of the ventilatory mode. A higher magnitude of pendelluft in proportional modes compared with PSV existed after adjusting for PTPmin (ß = 2.606, p = 0.010 for NAVA, and ß = 3.360, p = 0.004 for PAV +), and only for PAV + when adjusted for respiratory drive (ß = 2.643, p = 0.009 for PAV +). CONCLUSIONS: Pendelluft magnitude is associated with respiratory drive and inspiratory effort. Proportional modes do not prevent its occurrence in resolving ARDS compared with PSV.
RESUMEN
Rationale: Mortality in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) has decreased after the adoption of lung-protective strategies. Lower Vt, lower driving pressure (ΔP), lower respiratory rates (RR), and higher end-expiratory pressure have all been suggested as key components of lung protection strategies. A unifying theoretical explanation has been proposed that attributes lung injury to the energy transfer rate (mechanical power) from the ventilator to the patient, calculated from a combination of several ventilator variables.Objectives: To assess the impact of mechanical power on mortality in patients with ARDS as compared with that of primary ventilator variables such as the ΔP, Vt, and RR.Methods: We obtained data on ventilatory variables and mechanical power from a pooled database of patients with ARDS who had participated in six randomized clinical trials of protective mechanical ventilation and one large observational cohort of patients with ARDS. The primary outcome was mortality at 28 days or 60 days.Measurements and Main Results: We included 4,549 patients (38% women; mean age, 55 ± 23 yr). The average mechanical power was 0.32 ± 0.14 J · min-1 · kg-1 of predicted body weight, the ΔP was 15.0 ± 5.8 cm H2O, and the RR was 25.7 ± 7.4 breaths/min. The driving pressure, RR, and mechanical power were significant predictors of mortality in adjusted analyses. The impact of the ΔP on mortality was four times as large as that of the RR.Conclusions: Mechanical power was associated with mortality during controlled mechanical ventilation in ARDS, but a simpler model using only the ΔP and RR was equivalent.