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Regional ventilation in spontaneously breathing COVID ‐19 patients during postural maneuvers assessed by electrical impedance tomography
Author(s) -
Zitzmann Amelie,
Pulletz Sven,
GonzalesRios Pablo,
Frenkel Paul,
Teschendorf Peter,
Kremeier Peter,
Löser Benjamin,
Krukewitt Lisa,
Reuter Daniel A.,
Böhm Stephan H.,
MüllerGraf Fabian
Publication year - 2023
Publication title -
acta anaesthesiologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1399-6576
pISSN - 0001-5172
DOI - 10.1111/aas.14161
Subject(s) - medicine , electrical impedance tomography , ventilation (architecture) , supine position , breathing , mechanical ventilation , intensive care medicine , anesthesia , tomography , radiology , mechanical engineering , engineering
Abstract Background Gravity‐dependent positioning therapy is an established concept in the treatment of severe acute respiratory distress syndrome and improves oxygenation in spontaneously breathing patients with hypoxemic acute respiratory failure. In patients with coronavirus disease 2019, this therapy seems to be less effective. Electrical impedance tomography as a point‐of‐care functional imaging modality for visualizing regional ventilation can possibly help identify patients who might benefit from positioning therapy and guide those maneuvers in real‐time. Therefore, in this prospective observational study, we aimed to discover typical patterns in response to positioning maneuvers. Methods Distribution of ventilation in 10 healthy volunteers and in 12 patients with hypoxemic respiratory failure due to coronavirus disease 2019 was measured in supine, left, and right lateral positions using electrical impedance tomography. Results In this study, patients with coronavirus disease 2019 showed a variety of ventilation patterns, which were not predictable, whereas all but one healthy volunteer showed a typical and expected gravity‐dependent distribution of ventilation with the body positions. Conclusion Distribution of ventilation and response to lateral positioning is variable and thus unpredictable in spontaneously breathing patients with coronavirus disease 2019. Electrical impedance tomography might add useful information on the immediate reaction to postural maneuvers and should be elucidated further in clinical studies. Therefore, we suggest a customized individualized positioning therapy guided by electrical impedance tomography.