Effects of tracheal intubation and tracheal tube position on regional lung ventilation: an observational study

Clinical Applicability of Electrical Impedance Tomography in Patient-Tailored Ventilation: A Narrative Review

Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) is a non-invasive bedside imaging technique that provides real-time lung ventilation information on critically ill patients. EIT can potentially become a valuable tool for optimising mechanical ventilation, especially in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). In addition, EIT has been shown to improve the understanding of ventilation distribution and lung aeration, which can help tailor ventilatory strategies according to patient needs. Evidence from critically ill patients shows that EIT can reduce the duration of mechanical ventilation and prevent lung injury due to overdistension or collapse. EIT can also identify the presence of lung collapse or recruitment during a recruitment manoeuvre, which may guide further therapy. Despite its potential benefits, EIT has not yet been widely used in clinical practice. This may, in part, be due to the challenges associated with its implementation, including the need for specialised equipment and trained personnel and further validation of its usefulness in clinical settings. Nevertheless, ongoing research focuses on improving mechanical ventilation and clinical outcomes in critically ill patients.

A randomised trial evaluating mask ventilation using electrical impedance tomography during anesthetic induction: one-handed technique versus two-handed technique

OBJECTIVE

Mask positive pressure ventilation could lead to inhomogeneity of lung ventilation, potentially inducing lung function impairments, when compared with spontaneous breathing. The inhomogeneity of lung ventilation can be monitored by chest electrical impedance tomography (EIT), which could increase our understanding of mask ventilation-derived respiratory mechanics. We hypothesized that two-handed mask holding ventilation technique had better lung ventilation reflected by respiratory mechanics when compared with one-handed mask holding technique.

APPROACH

Elective surgical patients with healthy lungs were randomly assigned to receive either one-handed mask holding (one-handed group) or two-handed mask holding (two-handed group) ventilation. Mask ventilation was performed by certified registered anesthesiologists, during which the patients were mechanically ventilated with pressure-controlled mode. EIT was used to assess respiratory mechanics including: ventilation distribution, global and regional respiratory system compliance (CRS), expiratory tidal volume (TVe) and minute ventilation volume. Besides, hemodynamic parameters and PaO2-FiO2-ratio were also recorded.

MAIN RESULTS

Eighty adult patients were included in this study. Compared with spontaneous ventilation, mask positive pressure ventilation caused inhomogeneity of lung ventilation in both one-handed group (global inhomogeneity index: 0.40±0.07 vs. 0.50±0.15; P<0.001) and two-handed group (0.40±0.08 vs. 0.50±0.13; P<0.001). There were no differences of global inhomogeneity index (P = 0.948) between the one-handed group and two-handed group. Compared with one-handed group, two-handed group was associated with higher TVe (552.6±184.2 ml vs. 672.9±156.6 ml, P=0.002) and higher global CRS (46.5±16.4 ml/cmH2O vs. 53.5±14.5 ml/cmH2O, P=0.049). No difference of PaO2-FiO2-ratio was found between two groups (P=0.743).

SIGNIFICANCE

The two-handed mask holding technique could not improve the inhomogeneity of lung ventilation when monitored by EIT during mask ventilation although it obtained larger expiratory tidal volumes than one-handed mask holding technique.

Regional ventilation distribution in healthy lungs: can reference values be established for electrical impedance tomography parameters?

Background

Although electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is widely used for monitoring regional ventilation distribution, reference values have yet to be established for clinical use. The present study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of creating reference values for standard EIT parameters for potential clinical application.

Methods

A total of 75 participants with healthy lungs were included in this prospective study (male:female, 48:27; age, 34±14 years; height, 172±7 cm; weight, 73±12 kg). The subjects were examined during spontaneous breathing in the supine position. EIT measurements were performed at the level of the 4^th intercostal space. Commonly used EIT-based parameters, including the center of ventilation (CoV), dorsal and most dorsal fractions of ventilation distribution (TV_D and TV_ROI4 respectively), global inhomogeneity (GI) index, and standard deviation of regional ventilation delay index (RVD_SD) were calculated.

Results

Following outlier detection, EIT data from 71 subjects were finally evaluated. The values of the evaluated parameters were: CoV, 48.7%±1.7%; TVD, 48.1%±5.4%; TV_ROI4, 7.1%±1.8%; GI, 0.49±0.04; and RVD_SD, 7.0±2.0. The coefficients of variation for CoV and GI were low (0.03 and 0.07, respectively), but those for TV_ROI4 and RVD_SD were comparatively high (0.26 and 0.28, respectively). None of the evaluated parameters showed a significant correlation with age. The GI index showed a weak but significant correlation with body mass index (R=0.29, P=0.01). The RVD_SD was slightly higher in males than in females.

Conclusions

Our study indicated that CoV and GI were stable parameters with small coefficients of variation in participants with healthy lungs. The creation of EIT parameter reference values for setting treatment targets may be feasible.