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
. 2024 Jun 21;26(3):161-168.
doi: 10.1016/j.ccrj.2024.05.001. eCollection 2024 Sep.

Management of severe acute respiratory distress syndrome in Australia and New Zealand (SAGE-ANZ): An observational study

Affiliations

Management of severe acute respiratory distress syndrome in Australia and New Zealand (SAGE-ANZ): An observational study

Rachael L Parke et al. Crit Care Resusc. .

Abstract

Objective: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is associated with significant mortality, morbidity, and cost. We aimed to describe characteristics and management of adult patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) in Australia and New Zealand with moderate-severe ARDS, to better understand contemporary practice.

Design: Bi-national, prospective, observational, multi-centre study.

Setting: 19 ICUs in Australia and New Zealand.

Participants: Mechanically ventilated patients with moderate-severe ARDS.

Main outcome measures: Baseline demographic characteristics, ventilation characteristics, use of adjunctive support therapy and all-cause mortality to day 28. Data were summarised using descriptive statistics.

Results: 200 participants were enrolled, mean (±SD) age 55.5 (±15.9) years, 40% (n = 80) female. Around half (51.5%) had no baseline comorbidities and 45 (31%) tested positive for COVID-19. On day 1, mean SOFA score was 9 ± 3; median (IQR) PaO2/FiO2 ratio 119 (89, 142), median (IQR) FiO2 70% (50%, 99%) and mean (±SD) positive end expiratory pressure (PEEP) 11 (±3) cmH2O. On day one, 10.5% (n = 21) received lung protective ventilation (LPV) (tidal volume ≤6.5 mL/kg predicted body weight and plateau pressure or peak pressure ≤30 cm H2O). Adjunctive therapies were received by 86% (n = 172) of patients at some stage from enrolment to day 28. Systemic steroids were most used (n = 127) followed by neuromuscular blockers (n = 122) and prone positioning (n = 27). Median ventilator-free days (IQR) to day 28 was 5 (0, 20). In-hospital mortality, censored at day 28, was 30.5% (n = 61).

Conclusions: In Australia and New Zealand, compliance with evidence-based practices including LPV and prone positioning was low in this cohort. Therapies with proven benefit in the treatment of patients with moderate-severe ARDS, such as lung protective ventilation and prone positioning, were not routinely employed.

Keywords: Acute respiratory distress syndrome: adjunctive therapy; Lung protective ventilation; Mechanical ventilation; Prone positioning.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Distribution of tidal volume vs peak or plateau pressure on day 1.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Hospital-free days.

Similar articles

References

    1. Irish Critical Care Trials Group Acute lung injury and the acute respiratory distress syndrome in Ireland: a prospective audit of epidemiology and management. Crit Care. 2008;12(1):R30. doi: 10.1186/cc6808. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Grotberg J.C., Reynolds D., Kraft B.D. Management of severe acute respiratory distress syndrome: a primer. Crit Care. 2023/07/18 2023;27(1):289. doi: 10.1186/s13054-023-04572-w. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bellani G., Laffey J.G., Pham T., Fan E., Brochard L., Estaban A., et al. Epidemiology, patterns of care, and mortality for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome in intensive care units in 50 countries. JAMA. Feb 23 2016;315(8):788–800. doi: 10.1001/jama.2016.0291. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bersten A.D., Edibam C., Hunt T., Moran J., Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Incidence and mortality of acute lung injury and the acute respiratory distress syndrome in three Australian States. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. Feb 15 2002;165(4):443–448. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm.165.4.2101124. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Brun-Buisson C., Minelli C., Bertolini G., Brazzi L., Pimental J., Lewandowskiet K., et al. Epidemiology and outcome of acute lung injury in European intensive care units. Results from the ALIVE study. Intensive Care Med. Jan 2004;30(1):51–61. doi: 10.1007/s00134-003-2022-6. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources