OBJECTIVE: Patients with the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) often have airway secretions that severely compromise ventilation. This study investigates electrical impedance tomography (EIT) monitoring of a therapeutic bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) in a patient with COVID-19. APPROACH: A patient with COVID-19 developed acute respiratory distress syndrome requiring mechanical ventilation. He received regional BAL to remove mucus in the small airways (20 ml × 5). Regional ventilation changes before BAL, 30 min after and in the following days, were monitored with EIT. MAIN RESULTS: Regional ventilation worsened shortly after BAL and improved in the following days. The improvement of the oxygenation did not exactly match the ventilation improvement, which indicated a possible ventilation/perfusion mismatch. SIGNIFICANCE: Therapeutic BAL might improve regional ventilation for COVID-19 and EIT could be a useful tool at the bedside to monitor the ventilation treatment of COVID-19.
OBJECTIVE:Patients with the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) often have airway secretions that severely compromise ventilation. This study investigates electrical impedance tomography (EIT) monitoring of a therapeutic bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) in a patient with COVID-19. APPROACH: A patient with COVID-19 developed acute respiratory distress syndrome requiring mechanical ventilation. He received regional BAL to remove mucus in the small airways (20 ml × 5). Regional ventilation changes before BAL, 30 min after and in the following days, were monitored with EIT. MAIN RESULTS: Regional ventilation worsened shortly after BAL and improved in the following days. The improvement of the oxygenation did not exactly match the ventilation improvement, which indicated a possible ventilation/perfusion mismatch. SIGNIFICANCE: Therapeutic BAL might improve regional ventilation for COVID-19 and EIT could be a useful tool at the bedside to monitor the ventilation treatment of COVID-19.
Authors: Serge J H Heines; Bas C T van Bussel; Melanie J Acampo-de Jong; Frank C Bennis; Rob J J van Gassel; Rald V M Groven; Nanon F L Heijnen; Ben J M Hermans; René Hounjet; Johan van Koll; Mark M G Mulder; Marcel C G van de Poll; Frank van Rosmalen; Ruud Segers; Sander Steyns; Ulrich Strauch; Jeanette Tas; Iwan C C van der Horst; Sander M J van Kuijk; Dennis C J J Bergmans Journal: Sci Rep Date: 2022-08-25 Impact factor: 4.996