Efficacy and safety of early prone position in postoperative cardiac surgery adults with acute respiratory distress syndrome: a single-center retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a leading cause of postoperative respiratory failure after cardiac surgery, and the mortality rate is extremely high. Although prone positioning (PP) may be safe and effective for ARDS, it is still not widely adopted in cardiac surgery patients. We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of early PP in ARDS after cardiac surgery.

METHODS

This is a single-center retrospective cohort study. We included adult intensive care unit (ICU) patients who developed ARDS with arterial pressure of oxygen to fraction of oxygen ratio (P/F) ≤200 mmHg within 72 hours after cardiac surgery between 1 January 2019 and 1 August 2023. The outcomes were P/F after 1 session of PP, duration of mechanical ventilation (MV) and ICU stay, and adverse events.

RESULTS

In total, 79 patients who underwent PP and 87 patients who underwent supine position (SP) were included. The mean time to perform PP after ICU admission was 38.0 hours. The P/F improved significantly after 1 session of PP treatment [160.0 (127.8-184.3) 275.0 (220.0-325.0) mmHg, P<0.001], the duration of MV and ICU stay in the PP group were significantly shorter than those in the SP group [84.0 (64.0-122.0) 120.0 (97.0-182.0) h, P<0.001; 6.0 (5.0-8.0) 8.0 (6.0-12.0) days, P<0.001, respectively]. No adverse events were observed during the PP even in patients with intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP).

CONCLUSIONS

Early PP treatment is effective and safe for patients with moderate to severe ARDS after cardiac surgery and it is even safe in a subgroup placed with IABP.