Respiratory failure & ventilation
Mechanical Ventilation of the Critically Ill Obese Patient—A Retrospective Cohort Study
Authors' conclusion
In critically ill patients, an increasing BMI was associated with higher ventilator settings, increased airway pressures, and impaired gas exchange, resulting in hypoxia and hypercapnia.
Study context
- Population
- Critically ill patients receiving mechanical ventilation > 12 h in a Danish ICU (Metabolomics Cohort)of 577 in cohort
- Participants
- 242 patients
- Exposure
- Effect of body mass index (BMI) on ventilator settings, measurements and blood gases
- Outcome
- Ventilator settings, ventilator measurements and ventilation blood gas parameters at admission
- Follow-up
- Admission
Methodological detailssingle-centre
- Single-centre
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Admission values per one-unit increase in BMI
Increase, cmH2O (95% CI)P value
PEEP
0.14([0.07, 0.2])
P < 0.01Peak inspiratory pressure
0.23([0.12, 0.34])
P < 0.01Mean pressure
0.18([0.1, 0.27])
P < 0.01Per one-unit increase in BMI, as printed
Increase, L/min (95% CI)P value
Minute volume
0.08([0.03, 0.13])
P < 0.01Per one-unit increase in BMI, as printed
- PaO2/FiO2 ratio
- decrease 0.38 (95% CI [−0.64, −0.13]); P < 0.01
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | Increase (cmH2O) (95% CI) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average change over first 5 days of mechanical ventilation per one-unit increase in BMIPEEP · mixed-effects linear regression | 0.14 ([0.08, 0.2]) | P < 0.01 | |
| Average change over first 5 days of mechanical ventilation per one-unit increase in BMIPeak inspiratory pressure · mixed-effects linear regression | 0.23 ([0.13, 0.32]) | P < 0.01 | |
| Average change over first 5 days of mechanical ventilation per one-unit increase in BMIMean pressure · mixed-effects linear regression | 0.2 ([0.12, 0.27]) | P < 0.01 | |
| −0.200.20.4Difference, cmH2O (linear scale) |
| Outcome | Increase (L/min) (95% CI) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average change over first 5 days of mechanical ventilation per one-unit increase in BMIMinute volume · mixed-effects linear regression | 0.09 ([0.05, 0.12]) | P < 0.01 | |
| −0.0500.050.10.15Difference, L/min (linear scale) |
| Outcome | Increase (mL/kg PBW) (95% CI) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average change over first 5 days of mechanical ventilation per one-unit increase in BMITidal volume/kg PBW · mixed-effects linear regression | 0.08 ([0.05, 0.1]) | P < 0.01 | |
| −0.0500.050.10.15Difference, mL/kg PBW (linear scale) |
| Outcome | Increase (kPa) (95% CI) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average change over first 5 days of mechanical ventilation per one-unit increase in BMIPaCO2 · mixed-effects linear regression | 0.05 ([0.03, 0.07]) | P < 0.01 | |
| −0.0500.050.1Difference, kPa (linear scale) |
| Outcome | Decrease (kPa) (95% CI) | P value |
|---|---|---|
| Average change over first 5 days of mechanical ventilation per one-unit increase in BMIPaO2 · mixed-effects linear regression | 0.07 ([−0.12, −0.03]) | P < 0.01 |
Original publication
Mechanical Ventilation of the Critically Ill Obese Patient—A Retrospective Cohort Study. Acta Anaesthesiol Scand. Published 2 November 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →