Prone Positioning Curbs Intubation in Some COVID-19 Patients

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Prone positioning significantly reduced the need for intubation among nonintubated adults with COVID-19, as indicated by data from a new meta-analysis of more than 2000 individuals.

Dr Jie Li

The use of prone positioning for nonintubated patients (so-called “awake prone positioning”) has been common since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prone positioning is more comfortable for patients, and it entails no additional cost. Also, awake prone positioning is less labor intensive than prone positioning for intubated patients, said Jie Li, PhD, in a presentation at the Society for Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) 2023 Critical Care Congress.

However, data on the specific benefits of prone positioning are lacking and contradictory, said Li, a respiratory care specialist at Rush University in Chicago, Illinois.

Li and colleagues from a multinational research group found that outcomes were improved for patients who were treated with awake prone positioning ― notably, fewer treatment failures at day 28 ― but a pair of subsequent studies by other researchers showed contradictory outcomes.

For more definitive evidence, Li and colleagues conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 11 randomized, controlled trials and one unpublished study of awake prone positioning for patients with COVID-19. The studies were published between January 1, 2020, and July 1, 2022, and included a total of 2886 adult patients.

The primary outcome was the reported cumulative risk of intubation among nonintubated COVID-19 patients. Secondary outcomes included mortality, the need for escalating respiratory support, length of hospital length of stay, ICU admission, and adverse events.

Overall, awake prone positioning significantly reduced the intubation risk among nonintubated patients compared to standard care (risk ratio [RR], 0.85).

A further subgroup analysis showed a significant reduction in risk for intubation among patients supported by high-flow nasal cannula or noninvasive ventilation (RR, 0.83).

However, no additional reduction in intubation risk occurred among patients who received conventional oxygen therapy (RR, 1.02).

Mortality rates were similar for patients who underwent awake prone positioning and those who underwent supine positioning (RR, 0.96), as was the need for additional respiratory support (RR, 1.03). The length of hospital stay, ICU admission, and adverse events were similar between the patients who underwent prone positioning and those who underwent supine positioning.

The findings were limited by several factors. There was a potential for confounding by disease severity, which may have increased the use of respiratory support devices, Li said in her presentation.

“Another factor we should not ignore is the daily duration of prone positioning,” said Li. More research is needed to identify which factors play the greatest roles in treatment success, she added.

Findings Clarify Current Evidence

The current study was important in that it evaluated the current evidence of awake prone positioning, “particularly to identify the patients who benefit most from this treatment, in order to guide clinical practice,” Li told Medscape in an interview.

“Since early in the pandemic, awake prone positioning has been broadly utilized to treat patients with COVID-19,” she said. “In 2021, we published a multinational randomized controlled trial with over 1100 patients enrolled and reported lower treatment failure. However, no significant differences of treatment failure were reported in several subsequent multicenter randomized controlled trials published after our study,” she noted.

Li said she was not surprised by the findings, which reflect those of her team’s previously published meta-analysis. “The increased number of patients helps confirm our previous finding, even with the inclusion of several recently published randomized controlled trials,” she said.

For clinicians, “the current evidence supports the use of awake prone positioning for patients with COVID-19, particularly those who require advanced respiratory support from high-flow nasal cannula or noninvasive ventilation,” Li told Medscape.

The study received no outside funding. Li has relationships with AARC, Heyer Ltd, Aeorgen Ltd, the Rice Foundation, and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Ltd.

Society for Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) 2023 Critical Care Congress: Abstract 51. Presented January 21, 2023.

Heidi Splete is a freelance medical journalist with 20 years of experience.

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