Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34287907›Full record

ArticleThe Laryngoscope2022

Association of Severe Tongue Edema With Prone Positioning in Patients Intubated for COVID-19.

Amanda Walsh, Tejasvi Peesay, Annemarie Newark, Sarah Shearer, Keon Parsa, Matthew Pierce, William Z Gao

Open access · bronzeAbstract readMulticenter Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The Laryngoscope, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
1.9field-weighted citation impact, top 14% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Preoxygenation in the ICU.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025
    Review
  2. Observational
  3. ENT symptoms in acute COVID-19: a narrative review.Acta otorhinolaryngologica Italica : organo ufficiale della Societa italiana di otorinolaringologia e chirurgia cervico-facciale · 2022
    Review
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Amanda WalshDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, District of Columbia, U.S.A.ORCID 0000-0001-7703-2404
Tejasvi PeesaySchool of Medicine, Georgetown University, Washington, District of Columbia, U.S.A.ORCID 0000-0001-7441-1572
Annemarie NewarkDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, District of Columbia, U.S.A.ORCID 0000-0001-5010-1326
Sarah ShearerDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, District of Columbia, U.S.A.ORCID 0000-0002-2851-2126
Keon ParsaDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, District of Columbia, U.S.A.ORCID 0000-0001-9198-5121
Matthew PierceDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Washington, District of Columbia, U.S.A.
William Z GaoDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, District of Columbia, U.S.A.ORCID 0000-0002-5382-9440
Georgetown University · USMedStar Washington Hospital Center · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectives/hypothesisProne positioning is frequently used in patients intubated for COVID-19-related lung injury to improve oxygenation. At our institution, we observed severe tongue edema develop in some of these patients. Hence, we sought to determine the incidence of tongue edema in this cohort and whether prone positioning was a risk factor associated with this complication. STUDY

designRetrospective cohort study.

methodsA single-system retrospective cohort study of patients intubated for respiratory failure secondary to COVID-19 who subsequently developed clinically notable tongue edema from March 13 to July 5, 2020.

results260 patients were intubated for COVID-19-related respiratory failure during the study period. 158 patients (60.8%) underwent at least one episode of proning. Twelve patients in total (4.6%) developed clinically significant tongue edema. Eleven of the twelve patients (91.7%) who developed tongue edema underwent proning prior to the development of edema. Prone positioning was associated with an increased incidence of tongue edema (odds ratio [OR] 7.56, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.96-59.46, P = .027). In all proned patients who developed edema, this complication was noted during proning or shortly after supination (range, 0-4 days). Tongue edema was primarily managed with conservative measures; one patient required tracheostomy for definitive management.

conclusionsTongue edema appears to develop in a subset of patients with COVID-19 who are intubated. It appears to be associated with prone positioning but is likely multifactorial in nature. Further investigation into its incidence and pathophysiology is warranted. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4 Laryngoscope, 132:287-289, 2022.

Indexed as

Prone PositionAdultAgedAged, 80 and overCOVID-19FemaleGlossitisHumansIntubation, IntratrachealMaleMiddle AgedPatient PositioningRespiration, ArtificialRespiratory InsufficiencyRetrospective StudiesRisk FactorsCOVID-19intubationprone positioningproningtongue edema

Identifiers

PMID34287907
PMCPMC8441932
OpenAlexW3183689750

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.