Prone Positioning and Survival in Mechanically Ventilated Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019-Related Respiratory Failure∗

Kusum S. Mathews, Howard Soh, Shahzad Shaefi, Wei Wang, Sonali Bose, Steven Coca, Shruti Gupta, Salim S. Hayek, Anand Srivastava, Samantha K. Brenner, Jared Radbel, Adam Green, Anne Sutherland, Amanda Leonberg-Yoo, Alexandre Shehata, Edward J. Schenck, Samuel A.P. Short, Miguel A. Hernán, Lili Chan, David E. Leaf

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Therapies for patients with respiratory failure from coronavirus disease 2019 are urgently needed. Early implementation of prone positioning ventilation improves survival in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome, but studies examining the effect of proning on survival in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 are lacking. Our objective was to estimate the effect of early proning initiation on survival in patients with coronavirus disease 2019-associated respiratory failure. DESIGN: Data were derived from the Study of the Treatment and Outcomes in Critically Ill Patients with coronavirus disease 2019, a multicenter cohort study of critically ill adults with coronavirus disease 2019 admitted to 68 U.S. hospitals. Using these data, we emulated a target trial of prone positioning ventilation by categorizing mechanically ventilated hypoxemic (ratio of Pao2over the corresponding Fio2≤ 200 mm Hg) patients as having been initiated on proning or not within 2 days of ICU admission. We fit an inverse probability-weighted Cox model to estimate the mortality hazard ratio for early proning versus no early proning. Patients were followed until death, hospital discharge, or end of follow-up. SETTING: ICUs at 68 U.S. sites PATIENTS: Critically ill adults with laboratory-confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 receiving invasive mechanical ventilation with ratio of Pao2over the corresponding Fio2less than or equal to 200 mm Hg. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Among 2,338 eligible patients, 702 (30.0%) were proned within the first 2 days of ICU admission. After inverse probability weighting, baseline and severity of illness characteristics were well-balanced between groups. A total of 1,017 (43.5%) of the 2,338 patients were discharged alive, 1,101 (47.1%) died, and 220 (9.4%) were still hospitalized at last follow-up. Patients proned within the first 2 days of ICU admission had a lower adjusted risk of death compared with nonproned patients (hazard ratio, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.73-0.97). CONCLUSIONS: In-hospital mortality was lower in mechanically ventilated hypoxemic patients with coronavirus disease 2019 treated with early proning compared with patients whose treatment did not include early proning.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1026-1037
Number of pages12
JournalCritical care medicine
Volume49
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 1 2021
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • adult
  • coronavirus disease 2019
  • intensive care units
  • prone position
  • respiratory distress syndrome
  • respiratory insufficiency

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine

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