Observational studyNeurocritical care2024
Apnea Testing on Conventional Mechanical Ventilation During Brain Death Evaluation.
Observational study in Neurocritical care, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.
- Modifying the Apnea Test to Minimize Complications.Neurocritical care · 2025Article
- Response to Comment on: "Apnea Testing on Conventional Mechanical Ventilation During Brain Death Evaluation".Neurocritical care · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThe use of continuous positive airway pressure has been shown to improve the tolerance of the apnea test, a critical component of brain death evaluation. The ability to deactivate the apnea backup setting has made apnea testing possible using several conventional mechanical ventilators. Our goal was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of apnea testing performed on mechanical ventilation, compared with the oxygen insufflation technique, for the determination of brain death.
methodsThis was a retrospective study. In 2016, our institution approved a change in policy to permit apnea testing on conventional mechanical ventilation. We examined the records of consecutive adults who underwent apnea testing as part of the brain death evaluation process between 2016 and 2022. Using an apnea test technique was decided at the discretion of the attending physician. Outcomes were successful apnea test and the occurrence of patient instability during the test. This included oxygen desaturation (SpO2) < 90%, hypotension (mean arterial pressure < 65 mm Hg despite titration of vasopressor), cardiac arrhythmia, pneumothorax, and cardiac arrest.
resultsNinety-two adult patients underwent apnea testing during the study period: 58 (63%) with mechanical ventilation, 32 (35%) with oxygen insufflation, and 2 (2%) lacked documentation of technique. Apnea tests could not be completed successfully in 3 of 92 (3%) patients-two patients undergoing the oxygen insufflation technique (one patient with hypoxemia and one patient with hypotension) and one patient on mechanical ventilation (aborted for hemodynamic instability). Hypoxemia occurred in 4 of 32 (12.5%) patients with oxygen insufflation and in zero patients on mechanical ventilation (p = 0.01). Hypotension occurred during 3 of 58 (5%) tests with mechanical ventilation and 4 of 32 (12.5%) tests with oxygen insufflation (p = 0.24). In multivariate analysis, the use of oxygen insufflation was an independent predictor of patient instability during the apnea test (odds ratio 37.74, 95% confidence interval 2.74-520.14).
conclusionsApnea testing on conventional mechanical ventilation is feasible and offers several potential advantages over other techniques.
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Registered trials
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.