Health economic modeling of the potential cost saving effects of Neurally Adjusted Ventilator Assist

NIV-NAVA versus non-invasive respiratory support in preterm neonates: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the clinical and physiological outcomes of NIV-NAVA in preterm infants compared with other non-invasive respiratory support.

STUDY DESIGN

We conducted a meta-analysis of RCTs and randomized crossover studies comparing NIV-NAVA to other non-invasive strategies in preterm neonates.

RESULTS

NIV-NAVA was superior to other non-invasive support in maximum EAdi (MD - 0.66 µV; 95% CI - 1.17 to -0.15; p = 0.01), asynchrony index (MD - 49.8%; 95% CI - 63.1 to -36.5; p < 0.01), and peak inspiratory pressure (MD - 2.2 cmH2O; 95% CI - 2.7 to -1.7; p < 0.01). However, there were no significant differences in the incidences of intubation (RR 0.91; 95% CI 0.56-1.48; p = 0.71), reintubation (RR 0.72; 95% CI 0.45-1.16; p = 0.18), or bronchopulmonary dysplasia (RR 0.77; 95% CI 0.37-1.60; p = 0.48).

CONCLUSION

NIV-NAVA was associated with improvements in maximum Edi, asynchrony index, and peak inspiratory pressure relative to other non-invasive respiratory strategies, without significant differences in clinical outcomes between groups.

Design and Analysis of a Low-Cost Electronically Controlled Mobile Ventilator, Incorporating Mechanized AMBU Bag, for Patients during COVID-19 Pandemic

The outbreak of novel COVID-19 has severely and unprecedentedly affected millions of people across the globe. The painful respiratory distress caused during this disease calls for external assistance to the victims in the form of ventilation. The most common types of artificial ventilating units available at the healthcare facilities and hospitals are exorbitantly expensive to manufacture, and their number is fairly inadequate even in the so-called developed countries to cater to the burning needs of an ever-increasing number of ailing human subjects. According to available reports, without the provision of ventilation, the novel COVID-19 patients are succumbing to their ailments in a huge number of cases. This colossal problem of the availability of ventilator units can be addressed to a great extent by readily producible and cost-effective ventilating units that can be used on those suffering patients during an acute emergency and in the absence of conventional expensive ventilators at hospitals and medical care units. This paper has made an attempt to design and simulate a simple, yet effective, mechanized ventilator unit, which can be conveniently assembled without a profuse skillset and operated to resuscitate an ailing human patient. The stepper motor-controlled kinematic linkage is designed to deliver the patient with a necessitated discharge of air at optimum oxygen saturation through the AMBU bag connected in a ventilation circuit. With the associated code on MATLAB, the motor control parameters such as angular displacement and speed are deduced according to the input patient conditions (age group, tidal volume, breathing rate, etc.) and thereafter fed to the controller that drives the stepper motor. With a proposed feedback loop, the real-time static and dynamic compliance, airway resistance values can be approximately determined from the pressure variation cycle and fed to the controller unit to adjust the tidal volume as and when necessary. The simplistic yet robust design not only renders easy manufacturability by conventional and rapid prototyping techniques like 3D printing at different scales but also makes the product easily portable with minimal handling difficulty. Keeping the motto of Health for All as envisioned by the WHO, this low-cost indigenously engineered ventilator will definitely help the poor and afflicted towards their right to health and will help the medical professionals buy some time to manage the patient with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) towards recovery. Moreover, this instrument mostly includes readily available functional units having standard specifications and can be considered as standard bought-out items.

Neurally-Adjusted Ventilatory Assist (NAVA) versus Pneumatically Synchronized Ventilation Modes in Children Admitted to PICU

Traditionally, invasively ventilated children in the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) are weaned using pneumatically-triggered ventilation modes with a fixed level of assist. The best weaning mode is currently not known. Neurally adjusted ventilatory assist (NAVA), a newer weaning mode, uses the electrical activity of the diaphragm (Edi) to synchronise ventilator support proportionally to the patient’s respiratory drive. We aimed to perform a systematic literature review to assess the effect of NAVA on clinical outcomes in invasively ventilated children with non-neonatal lung disease. Three studies (n = 285) were included for analysis. One randomised controlled trial (RCT) of all comers showed a significant reduction in PICU length of stay and sedative use. A cohort study of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) patients (n = 30) showed a significantly shorter duration of ventilation and improved sedation with the use of NAVA. A cohort study of children recovering from cardiac surgery (n = 75) showed significantly higher extubation success, shorter duration of ventilation and PICU length of stay, and a reduction in sedative use. Our systematic review presents weak evidence that NAVA may shorten the duration of ventilation and PICU length of stay, and reduce the requirement of sedatives. However, further RCTs are required to more fully assess the effect of NAVA on clinical outcomes and treatment costs in ventilated children.

Effects of daily sedation interruption in intensive care unit patients undergoing mechanical ventilation: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

AIM

This study aimed to assess the effects of daily sedation interruption on the mechanical ventilation duration and relevant outcomes in mechanically ventilated patients in the intensive care unit (ICU).

BACKGROUND

Previously, three meta-analyses on the association of daily sedation interruption with the mechanical ventilation duration have reported conflicting findings, and these did not support current guideline recommendations that daily sedation interruption can be routinely used in mechanically ventilated adult ICU patients.

DESIGN

This was a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies.

DATA SOURCES

Data were from PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, ProQuest dissertation and theses, Airiti Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data Chinese, Science Direct and PsycINFO databases.

REVIEW METHODS

Two reviewers independently assessed, extracted and appraised the included studies. Then, pooled estimates were calculated using a random-effects model.

RESULTS

In total, 45 studies involving 5493 participants were included. Compared with controls, daily sedation interruption significantly reduced the mechanical ventilation duration, ICU stay length, sedation duration, and tracheostomy and ventilator-associated pneumonia risks (all p ≤ 0.001). Moreover, the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score and study quality were significant moderators.

CONCLUSION

Daily sedation interruption could substantially reduce the duration of mechanical ventilation, particularly when it was applied to patients with high disease severity.

SUMMARY STATEMENT

What is already known about this topic? Daily sedation interruption has been associated with reductions in excessive sedation and excessive use of sedative agents. The findings on the effects of daily sedation interruption on the mechanical ventilation duration have been inconsistent. What this paper adds? Daily sedation interruption could effectively reduce the mechanical ventilation duration, intensive care unit stay length, sedation duration, and tracheostomy and ventilator-associated pneumonia risks in intensive care unit patients. Applying daily sedation interruption to patients with high disease severity yielded a larger reduction in the mechanical ventilation duration. The implications of this paper: There is a need to adopt daily sedation interruption as routine care to reduce the mechanical ventilation duration, especially in higher disease severity population.

Effect of Neurally Adjusted Ventilatory Assist on Patient-Ventilator Interaction in Mechanically Ventilated Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

OBJECTIVES

Patient-ventilator asynchrony is common among critically ill patients undergoing mechanical ventilation and has been associated with adverse outcomes. Neurally adjusted ventilatory assist is a ventilatory mode that may lead to improved patient-ventilator synchrony. We conducted a systematic review to determine the impact of neurally adjusted ventilatory assist on patient-ventilator asynchrony, other physiologic variables, and clinical outcomes in adult patients undergoing invasive mechanical ventilation in comparison with conventional pneumatically triggered ventilatory modes.

DATA SOURCES

We searched Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Central, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, conference abstracts, and ClinicalTrials.gov until July 2018.

STUDY SELECTION

Two authors independently screened titles and abstracts for randomized and nonrandomized controlled trials (including crossover design) comparing the occurrence of patient-ventilator asynchrony between neurally adjusted ventilatory assist and pressure support ventilation during mechanical ventilation in critically ill adults. The asynchrony index and severe asynchrony (i.e., asynchrony index > 10%) were the primary outcomes.

DATA EXTRACTION

Two authors independently extracted study characteristics and outcomes and assessed risk of bias of included studies.

DATA SYNTHESIS

Of 11,139 unique citations, 26 studies (522 patients) met the inclusion criteria. Sixteen trials were included in the meta-analysis using random effects models through the generic inverse variance method. In several different clinical scenarios, the use of neurally adjusted ventilatory assist was associated with significantly reduced asynchrony index (mean difference, -8.12; 95% CI, -11.61 to -4.63; very low quality of evidence) and severe asynchrony (odds ratio, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.23-0.76; moderate quality of evidence) as compared with pressure support ventilation. Furthermore, other measurements of asynchrony were consistently improved during neurally adjusted ventilatory assist.

CONCLUSIONS

Neurally adjusted ventilatory assist improves patient-ventilator synchrony; however, its effects on clinical outcomes remain uncertain. Randomized controlled trials are needed to determine whether the physiologic efficiency of neurally adjusted ventilatory assist affects patient-important outcomes in critically ill adults.

Neurally adjusted ventilatory assist versus conventional ventilation in the pediatric population: Are there benefits?

INTRODUCTION

Neurally-adjusted ventilator assist (NAVA) is a relatively new form of ventilation in which the electrical activity of the diaphragm is sensed by a catheter. The amplitude of this electrical signal is then used to deliver an appropriately proportioned pressure supported breath to the patient. Due to the synchronous nature of the breaths and the patient-adjusted nature of the support, NAVA has been shown to have benefits over conventional ventilation. Meta-analyses were conducted of published pediatric studies to compare ventilatory endpoints between NAVA and conventional ventilation.

METHODS

Studies comparing ventilatory parameters between NAVA and conventional ventilation in pediatric patients were identified. These studies were reviewed for appropriateness for inclusion and studies of only pediatric patients with data for similar endpoints between both arms were then pooled.

RESULTS

Statistically significant differences were noted in asynchrony, peak inspiratory pressure (PIP), and oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry. Asynchrony was 17% lower with NAVA, PIP was 1.74 cmH₂ 0 lower with NAVA, and oxygen saturation was 1.1% greater with NAVA. There was no statistically significant difference in peak expiratory pressure, mean airway pressure, electrical diaphragmatic activity, respiratory rate, hydrogen ion concentration, partial pressure of oxygen, or partial pressure of carbon dioxide.

CONCLUSION

Statistically significant differences were noted in percent asynchrony, PIP, and oxygen saturation when comparing NAVA to conventional ventilation. These all tended to favor NAVA. Other than percent asynchrony, however, the other statistically significant findings were not clinically significant.

Evaluating the Cost-Effectiveness of Proportional-Assist Ventilation Plus vs. Pressure Support Ventilation in the Intensive Care Unit in Two Countries

Background: Mechanical ventilation is an integral, but expensive, part of the intensive care unit (ICU). Optimal use of mechanical ventilation could save costs and improve patient outcomes. Here, the cost effectiveness of proportional assist ventilation (PAV™ ventilation by Medtronic) is estimated relative to pressure support ventilation (PSV).

Methods: A cohort-level, clinical model was built using data from clinical trials. The model estimates patient-ventilator asynchrony >10%, tracheostomy, ventilator-associated pneumonia, other nosocomial infections, spontaneous breathing trial success, hypoxemia, and death. Cost and quality of life are associated with all events, with cost effectiveness defined as the cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained in the US and UK.

Results: The mean cost of ICU care was lower with PAV™ than with PSV in the US and UK, but the total cost of care over 40 years was higher due to more patients surviving and incurring future care costs. Reduced time on mechanical ventilation, fewer nosocomial infections, and extended life expectancy with PAV™ drove QALY improvement. The cost per QALY gained with PAV™ was $8,628 and £2,985.

Conclusion: PAV™ improves quality of life and reduces short-term costs. PAV™ is likely to be considered cost-effective over 40-years in the US and UK.