Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Observational Study
. 2024 Oct:83:154854.
doi: 10.1016/j.jcrc.2024.154854. Epub 2024 Jul 11.

High PEEP/low FiO2 ventilation is associated with lower mortality in COVID-19

Collaborators, Affiliations
Free article
Observational Study

High PEEP/low FiO2 ventilation is associated with lower mortality in COVID-19

Robin L Goossen et al. J Crit Care. 2024 Oct.
Free article

Abstract

Rationale: The positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) strategy in patients with coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remains debated. Most studies originate from the initial waves of the pandemic. Here we aimed to assess the impact of high PEEP/low FiO2 ventilation on outcomes during the second wave in the Netherlands.

Methods: Retrospective observational study of invasively ventilated COVID-19 patients during the second wave. Patients were categorized based on whether they received high PEEP or low PEEP ventilation according to the ARDS Network tables. The primary outcome was ICU mortality, and secondary outcomes included hospital and 90-day mortality, duration of ventilation and length of stay, and the occurrence of kidney injury. Propensity matching was performed to correct for factors with a known relationship to ICU mortality.

Results: This analysis included 790 COVID-ARDS patients. At ICU discharge, 32 (22.5%) out of 142 high PEEP patients and 254 (39.2%) out of 848 low PEEP patients had died (HR 0.66 [0.46-0.96]; P = 0.03). High PEEP was linked to improved secondary outcomes. Matched analysis did not change findings.

Conclusions: High PEEP ventilation was associated with improved ICU survival in patients with COVID-ARDS.

Keywords: Artificial; Intensive care; Pneumonia; Respiration; Respiratory distress syndrome; Respiratory insufficiency; Viral.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest None.

Publication types