Towards an improved understanding of the effect of a speaking valve on lung volumes and communication in the critically ill tracheostomised patient

Assessing end-expiratory lung volumes, ventilation distribution and respiratory parameters of tracheostomised mechanically ventilated ICU patients before, during and after a speaking valve trial in-line with ventilation circuit using electrical impedance tomography.

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ANZCTR

Registry ID

ACTRN12615000589583

Enrollment

Registered

2015-06-04

Start date

2013-11-08

Completion date

2014-12-30

Last updated

2020-01-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

None listed

Brief summary

Critically ill tracheostomised mechanically ventilated patients are often left voiceless due to air bypassing their vocal folds. There are speaking valves that can be used in this population to restore verbal communication, however they are not widely used with ICU patients due to concerns about the required cuff deflation causing a leak in the ventilation circuit and potentially leading to derecruitment of the patients' lungs. This in turn would be deleterious towards patients weaning off mechanical ventilation. This study is looking at assessing patients' lung mechanics before, during and after the speaking valve use to guide us on respiratory physiology and advise us on future best practice.

Interventions

Tracheostomised mechanically ventilated ICU patients that are using an in-line speaking valve for at least 30min will be monitored using electrical impedance tomography and respiratory inductance plethysmography for 60min. The monitoring phase will include 15min of baseline ventilation followed by 30min of speaking valve in-line with their ventilation, and followed by 15min of back to baseline ventilation with no speaking valve.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

18 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

20 consecutive ICU patients using a speaking valve successfully for at least 30minutes

Exclusion criteria

Patients with severe communication difficulties, patients not suitable for electrical impedance tomography (ventricular assist devices, open sternum, extensive thoracic dressings/drains, dependent on cardiac pacing)

Outcome results