CClinicalTrials.gg
TerminatedNCT04657393VICAUpdated Nov 29, 2022

Ventilation in Cardiac Arrest

An interventional study of mechanical ventilation in Cardio Respiratory Arrest, Cardiac Death and Ventilation Therapy; Complications, sponsored by Medical University of Graz. Terminated at 1 site in Austria. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2022-11-29.

Sponsored by Medical University of Graz · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Why this study was terminated
slow inclusion

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 1 year 6 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Jun 2019, registered Dec 2020).
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
46
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Over the last decades, research in cardiopulmonary resuscitation was primarily focused on uninterrupted chest compressions to restore sufficient circulation. Ventilation during ongoing chest compressions was regarded as potentially deleterious and thus not given any major scientific focus. Current guidelines advise that ventilation be monitored by end-tidal CO2 and emphasize that hyperventilation be avoided. Recent findings from arterial blood gas analyses showed high levels of arterial pCO2, resulting in a frequent occurrence of hypercapnic acidosis, which may be caused by iatrogenic hypoventilation. Ventilation during ongoing chest compressions can be hard to achieve, as nearly every breath may be terminated by simultaneous chest compressions. In case of bag ventilation the applied tidal volumes have not yet been measured und mechanical ventilators so far were not able to ventilate during chest compressions, because pressure limit settings induced termination of inspiration.

The aim of this study is to provide patients with the best possible ventilation, even under ongoing chest compressions. Patients are ventilated with a new turbine-driven ventilator (Monnal T60, Air Liquide, France), which can deliver adequate tidal volumes within a very short inspiratory phase due to the inspiratory flow of > 200l/min. Thus, in deviation from the current recommendations, the ventilation rate can be doubled to 20/min, so that inspiration coincides with cardiac massage less often. The study compares effective ventilation volumes applied by two regimes, 10 breaths/min and 20/min.

Read the detailed description

Restoration of circulation is undoubtedly the basis of success in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Current guidelines on CPR require that hyperventilation be avoided during CPR. Blood gas analysis results from the "BABICA trial" demonstrate that more than 90% of patients have highly elevated levels of pCO2 and are acidotic, mainly due to hypercapnia. No hyperventilated or alkalotic patients were found during CPR. Furthermore, higher pO2 values were found to be associated with improved outcomes. Current recommendations to limit ventilation frequency to 10/min was also critically questioned in a recent study from Belgium, which did not show any positive effect of low respiration rate compared to higher ones, cut-off 10/min. There are currently no clinical trials addressing optimal tidal volumes or minute volumes during CPR.

A major obstacle to continuous measurement of respiratory minute volumes during CPR are ongoing chest compressions. In a retrospective study in which respiratory volumes were derived from bioimpedance curves, better outcomes were found in the group of more frequent ventilations. Common machine ventilators display set values, while expiratory volumes are averaged and may be overlaid by volume shifts of cardiac massage. In a recent study, investigators analyzed flow curves, where each breath can be evaluated individually and volumes can be derived correctly using dedicated software. We were able to test this method on a comparative study of three ventilators study on anatomical cadavers.

This study aims to detect whether a higher rate of ventilation using a turbine driven ventilator is able to provide higher breathing volumes during ongoing chest compressions in individuals suffering from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Higher ventilation and oxygenation parameters as well as optimized acid-base-balance and increased rates of ROSC are expected.

Patient care (chest compressions, venous access, endotracheal intubation, application of drugs, defibrillation if necessary) is conducted according to current recommendation for Advanced Life Support (ALS) as issued by the European Resuscitation Council (ERC). Ventilation is performed at one of two patterns: the control group is ventilated at 10 breaths per minute, the intervention group is ventilated at 20 breaths per minute. Patterns are alternating according to calendar week. After successful endotracheal intubation mechanical ventilation is carried out using a turbine-driven ventilator (Monnal T60, AirLiquide, France). Ventilator settings are pre-set: respiratory frequency is set at 10/min or 20/min (see above), other ventilator parameters remain identical: Positive End-Expiratory Pressure (PEEP) 0 mmHg, FiO2 1,0, tidal volume 6ml/kg ideal body weight [men: 50+(0.91x(body length-152.4)), women: 45+(0.91y(body length-152.4))]. These calculations can be performed on the ventilator itself by entering patients' age, height and gender. Chest compressions are carried out without interruptions and without considerations regarding the respiratory cycle.

02

Conditions studied

  • Cardio Respiratory Arrest
  • Cardiac Death
  • Ventilation Therapy; Complications
  • Apnea

Browse trials for

Keywords

  • cardiopulmonary resuscitation
  • mechanical ventilation
  • Gas exchange
03

In context

Heart Arrest

966 studies on the registry are indexed under Heart Arrest; 227 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 46 is below the median of 100 across 557 interventional studies indexed under Heart Arrest.

Browse Heart Arrest studies →

Lead sponsor

Medical University of Graz is the lead sponsor of 459 studies on the registry; 98 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

  • out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA)
  • cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) efforts
  • endotracheal intubation

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • children and adolescents (age\<18 years at inclusion)
  • pregnant women
  • previous documented lack of legal capacity
  • previous documented refusal to participate in trials
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Single (Participant)
Enrollment
46 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    Alternative Ventilation Rate

    ventilation is performed at 20 breaths/min

    Procedure: mechanical ventilation

  • Active comparator
    Conventional Ventilation Rate

    ventilation is performed at 10 breaths/min

    Procedure: mechanical ventilation

Interventions

  • Proceduremechanical ventilation

    change of ventilation frequency

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Minute ventilation

    exspiratory ventilatory volume per minute

    Time frame: during ongoing chest compressions

  2. adequacy of ventilation - pH

    Evaluation of ventilation success per using arterial blood gas analyses (pH)

    Time frame: during ongoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation

  3. adequacy of ventilation - paCO2

    Evaluation of ventilation success per using arterial blood gas analyses (paCO2)

    Time frame: during ongoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Secondary outcomes

  1. ROSC

    Return of Spontaneous Circulation

    Time frame: during prehospital resuscitation efforts

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Medical University of Graz
    Graz, Styria 8036, Austria
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Nov 29, 2022, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04657393
Lead sponsor
Medical University of Graz
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Dec 8, 2020
Start date
Jun 1, 2019
Primary completion
Oct 31, 2021
Completion
Nov 30, 2021
Last update
Nov 29, 2022

Study contacts

Gerhard Prause, MD
principal investigator · Medical University of Graz

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is terminated, as verified in Nov 2022. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

Follow this study

Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.

Sign in to follow

Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.

Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.

Start the discussion