PaCO 2 trajectories in mechanically ventilated patients with COVID ‐19: A population‐based cohort study

• Published in: Acta anaesthesiologica Scandinavica Vol. 67; no. 6; pp. 779 - 787
• Main Authors: Berg, Ronan M. G., Ronit, Andreas, Haase, Nicolai, Møller, Morten Hylander, Kristiansen, Klaus T., Jonassen, Trine, Wamberg, Christian, Andreasen, Anne Sofie, Mohr, Thomas, Bestle, Morten H., Jørgensen, Vibeke L., Hammer, Niels R., Mitchell, Anja U., Smitt, Margit, Greve, Anders Møller, Nyeland, Martin Erik, Jensen, Britt Wang, Andreasen, Anne Helms, Petersen, Janne, Solem, Espen Jimenez, Winther‐Jensen, Matilde, Plovsing, Ronni R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01.07.2023
• Subjects: respiratory failure; mechanical ventilation; critical illness; hypercapnia; latent class trajectory model
• ISSN: 0001-5172; 1399-6576
• DOI: 10.1111/aas.14233

To identify PaCO trajectories and assess their associations with mortality in critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during the first and second waves of the pandemic in Denmark. A population-based cohort study with retrospective data collection. All COVID-19 patients were treated in eight intensive care units (ICUs) in the Capital Region of Copenhagen, Denmark, between March 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021. Data from the electronic health records were extracted, and latent class analyses were computed based on up to the first 3 weeks of mechanical ventilation to depict trajectories of PaCO levels. Multivariable Cox regression analyses were used to calculate adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) for Simplified Acute Physiology Score 3, sex and age with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for death according to PaCO trajectories. In latent class trajectory models, including 25,318 PaCO measurements from 244 patients, three PaCO latent class trajectories were identified: a low isocapnic (Class I; n = 130), a high isocapnic (Class II; n = 80), as well as a progressively hypercapnic (Class III; n = 34) trajectory. Mortality was higher in Class II [aHR: 2.16 {1.26-3.68}] and Class III [aHR: 2.97 {1.63-5.40}]) compared to Class I (reference). Latent class analysis of arterial blood gases in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients identified distinct PaCO trajectories, which were independently associated with mortality.