PEEP in Patients With Acute Respiratory Failure

Recruiting now

Conditions studied: Acute Respiratory Failure With Hypoxia

In brief

Positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) has become an essential component of the care of critically ill patients who require ventilatory support. In 1975, several investigators published the effects of PEEP in 15 mechanically ventilated patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF) supported by mechanical ventilation. FiO2 ranged between 21% to 75% and the tidal volume between 13 to 15 mL/kg. PEEP was increased in 3 cmH2O steps until cardiac output fell. The aim was to identify the "optimum" PEEP level. "Best" PEEP was associated simultaneously with the best static compliance of the respiratory system, the greatest oxygen transport, and the lowest dead space fraction. That study established the basis for the use of PEEP in patients with ARF worldwide. Although currently patients with ARF are ventilated with much lower tidal volumes, that study has never been validated. It is unknow whether their findings are currently valid, generalizable, and reproducible.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT04912960

Run by

Jesus Villar

People needed

15

Starts

2021-06-10

Expected to finish

2025-12-31

Last updated by the study team

2025-04-20

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Intubated patients requiring MV for >24 h
• Age >18 years
• Acute hypoxemic respiratory failure, defined as a PaO2/FiO2 <300 with an FiO2 ≥0.3 and PEEP≥5 cmH2O.
• ARF caused by pulmonary insults.

You may not qualify if…

• ARF from non-pulmonary origin.
• Contraindications from high PEEP (severe head trauma or severe chest trauma).
• Patients that cannot maintained supine position.
• Uncorrected hypovolemia
• Hemodynamic instability

Where it is running

• Hospital Universitario Dr. Negrin — Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, Spain (enrolling)
• Hospital Clinic — Barcelona, Spain
• Hospital Universitario La Princesa — Madrid, Spain

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

Trial information comes from ClinicalTrials.gov and is refreshed daily. TrialsForMe does not provide medical care and does not run the studies it lists.