Early EIT-Guided PEEP Titration on Pulmonary Physiology in Patients With Moderate-to-Severe ARDS Undergoing Prone Positioning (EIT-PEEP-PRONE)

NCT07793565 · Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 40

Last updated 2026-08-28

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Background: Electrical impedance tomography (EIT)-guided PEEP titration has been shown to improve regional ventilation distribution, increase respiratory system compliance, and reduce mechanical power in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), but its effect on mortality remains unproven. In patients with moderate-to-severe ARDS, prone positioning for 4 hours allows pulmonary ventilation and perfusion to reach a new steady state, with optimization of ventilation-perfusion (V/Q) matching and other pulmonary physiological parameters. However, whether dynamic PEEP titration guided by EIT at this time point can further optimize V/Q matching and other pulmonary physiological parameters compared with conventional methods has not been reported.

Objective: To investigate whether EIT-guided PEEP titration performed at 4 hours after prone positioning initiation can further optimize V/Q matching and other pulmonary physiological parameters in patients with moderate-to-severe ARDS undergoing prone positioning.

Methods: This is a prospective, single-center, randomized, open-label, parallel-controlled physiological study. A total of 40 patients with moderate-to-severe ARDS (Berlin definition, PaO₂/FiO₂ \< 150 mmHg) will be enrolled and randomized in a 1:1 ratio to either the EIT-guided group or the control group. PEEP intervention will be performed at 4 hours after prone positioning initiation (T1) in both groups: the EIT group receives EIT-guided PEEP titration, while the control group receives PEEP set according to the ARDSNet/PEEP-FiO₂ table. The primary outcome is V/Q matching percentage assessed by EIT at 18 hours of prone positioning (T2) and 6 hours after supine repositioning (T3). Secondary outcomes include respiratory mechanics, EIT-derived parameters (regional ventilation distribution, global inhomogeneity index, center of ventilation), oxygenation indices, echocardiographic measures of cardiac function, and clinical outcomes (28-day mortality, ventilator-free days, ICU length of stay, etc.).

Conclusion: This study will provide physiological evidence for early EIT-guided PEEP titration in patients with moderate-to-severe ARDS undergoing prone positioning, and will lay the foundation for future large-scale clinical trials.

Conditions

  • Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)

Interventions

OTHER

EIT-Guided PEEP Titration Group

PEEP titration is performed during mechanical ventilation to optimize respiratory mechanics and ventilation-perfusion matching in patients with ARDS.

OTHER

ARDSNet/PEEP-FiO₂ Table

PEEP will be set according to the ARDSNet/PEEP-FiO₂ table at 4 hours after prone positioning initiation (T1).

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • XIE MIN

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Min Xie · Tongji Hospital

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
80 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2026-08-31
Primary Completion
2027-05-20
Completion
2027-06-30

Countries

  • China

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07793565 on ClinicalTrials.gov