Sitting Position and Blood Oxygenation in ICU Patient

Plain-language summary

The positioning of the ICU patient is a daily concern of the medical and paramedical teams. Developments in emergency medicine and sedation and analgesia techniques have made it possible to reduce patient mortality. However, considered too unstable, patients were no longer mobilized outside the bed until the complete resolution of the symptoms that led to hospitalization or surgery. Despite encouraging results for early mobilization, bed and rest remained the most widespread positioning technique worldwide with the emergence of intensive care units, mechanical ventilation and sedation/analgesia/curarization. The result is peripheral muscular amyotrophy and respiratory muscular amyotrophy, with increased length of stay and exacerbated morbidity/mortality several years after discharge from ICU. Numerous studies have shown the value of early mobilization of the ICU patient to preserve functional and muscular capital. However, few studies have evaluated the value of mobilizing the ICU patient from the bed in order to improve oxygenation. The lack of mobility outside the bed causes condensation of the pulmonary parenchyma at the bases and in the dorsal region when the patient is lying down or in a prolonged semi-seated position. In awake spontaneously ventilated patients, whether intubated on ventilatory support (Pressure Support), non-invasive ventilation (NIV) or high flow nasal oxygen therapy (HFNO), the reference position is a semi-seated patient with the head of the resuscitation bed tilted at 30°. The problem with this position in the bed is that patients tend to slide toward the foot of the bed. This migration is due to gravity or the design of the ICU bed. The end result of this migration is that the inclination indicated by the bed head inclinometer does not correspond to the actual angulation between the patient's lower limbs and trunk. The patient finds himself "compressed" in the lower abdomen, which can lead to compression of the diaphragm and thus hypoventilation in the postero-caudal regions of the lungs. Our hypothesis is that the chair position (outside the ICU bed) allows, without modification of the ventilatory parameters, to improve the alveolar ventilation and thus the oxygenation of the arterial blood, compared to the "natural" semi-seated position in the ICU bed, in patients with spontaneous ventilation (PS/NIV/HFNO).

Who can participate

What they're measuring

Trial details