• Christian Karagiannidis, Stephan Strassmann, Sarah Schwarz, Michaela Merten, Eddy Fan, Jennifer Beck, Christer Sinderby, and Wolfram Windisch.
• Department of Pneumology and Critical Care Medicine, Cologne-Merheim Hospital, ARDS and ECMO Centre, Kliniken der Stadt Köln gGmbH, Witten/Herdecke University Hospital, Ostmerheimer Strasse 200, D-51109, Cologne, Germany. Christian.Karagiannidis@uni-wh.de.
• Crit Care. 2019 Apr 23; 23 (1): 135.

BackgroundVeno-venous extracorporeal CO2 removal (vv-ECCO2R) and non-invasive neurally adjusted ventilator assist (NIV-NAVA) are two promising techniques which may prevent complications related to prolonged invasive mechanical ventilation in patients with acute exacerbation of COPD.MethodsA physiological study of the electrical activity of the diaphragm (Edi) response was conducted with varying degrees of extracorporeal CO2 removal to control the respiratory drive in patients with severe acute exacerbation of COPD breathing on NIV-NAVA.ResultsTwenty COPD patients (SAPS II 37 ± 5.6, age 57 ± 9 years) treated with vv-ECCO2R and supported by NIV-NAVA were studied during stepwise weaning of vv-ECCO2R. Based on dyspnea, tolerance, and blood gases, weaning from vv-ECCO2R was successful in 12 and failed in eight patients. Respiratory drive (measured via the Edi) increased to 19 ± 10 μV vs. 56 ± 20 μV in the successful and unsuccessful weaning groups, respectively, resulting in all patients keeping their CO2 and pH values stable. Edi was the best predictor for vv-ECCO2R weaning failure (ROC analysis AUC 0.95), whereas respiratory rate, rapid shallow breathing index, and tidal volume had lower predictive values. Eventually, 19 patients were discharged home, while one patient died. Mortality at 90 days and 180 days was 15 and 25%, respectively.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates for the first time the usefulness of the Edi signal to monitor and guide patients with severe acute exacerbation of COPD on vv-ECCO2R and NIV-NAVA. The Edi during vv-ECCO2R weaning was found to be the best predictor of tolerance to removing vv-ECCO2R.

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