Effects of Different Inhalation Therapy on Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia in Ventilated COVID-19 Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Nikola DelićAndrija MatetićJosipa DomjanovićToni Kljaković-GašpićLenko SaricDarko IlićSvjetlana DošenovićJosipa DomazetRuben KovačFrane RunjićSanda Stojanović StipićBožidar DuplančićPublished in: Microorganisms (2022)
The effect of routine inhalation therapy on ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in mechanically ventilated patients with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has not been well-defined. This randomized controlled trial included 175 eligible adult patients with COVID-19 who were treated with mechanical ventilation at the University Hospital of Split between October 2020 and June 2021. Patients were randomized and allocated to a control group (no routine inhalation) or one of the treatment arms (inhalation of N-acetylcysteine; 5% saline solution; or 8.4% sodium bicarbonate). The primary outcome was the incidence of VAP, while secondary outcomes included all-cause mortality. Routine inhalation therapy had no effect on the incidence of bacterial or fungal VAP nor on all-cause mortality ( p > 0.05). Secondary analyses revealed a significant reduction of Gram-positive and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) VAP in the treatment groups. Specifically, the bicarbonate group had a statistically significantly lower incidence of Gram-positive bacterial VAP (4.8%), followed by the N-acetylcysteine group (10.3%), 5% saline group (19.0%), and control group (34.6%; p = 0.001). This difference was driven by a lower incidence of MRSA VAP in the bicarbonate group (2.4%), followed by the N-acetylcysteine group (7.7%), 5% saline group (14.3%), and control group (34.6%; p < 0.001). Longer duration of ventilator therapy was the only significant, independent predictor of any bacterial or fungal VAP in the multivariate analysis (aOR 1.14, 95% CI 1.01-1.29, p = 0.038 and aOR 1.05, 95% CI 1.01-1.10, p = 0.028, respectively). In conclusion, inhalation therapy had no effect on the overall VAP incidence or all-cause mortality. Further studies should explore the secondary findings of this study such as the reduction of Gram-positive or MRSA-caused VAP in treated patients.
Keyphrases
- methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus
- coronavirus disease
- randomized controlled trial
- staphylococcus aureus
- mechanical ventilation
- risk factors
- end stage renal disease
- newly diagnosed
- acute respiratory distress syndrome
- ejection fraction
- sars cov
- peritoneal dialysis
- gram negative
- type diabetes
- metabolic syndrome
- young adults
- study protocol
- clinical trial
- insulin resistance
- skeletal muscle
- replacement therapy
- phase ii
- patient reported