Effect of driving pressure-guided positive end-expiratory pressure on postoperative pulmonary complications in patients undergoing laparoscopic or robotic surgery: a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Individualised positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) improves respiratory mechanics. However, whether PEEP reduces postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) remains unclear. We investigated whether driving pressure-guided PEEP reduces PPCs after laparoscopic/robotic abdominal surgery.

Methods: This single-centre, randomised controlled trial enrolled patients at risk for PPCs undergoing laparoscopic or robotic lower abdominal surgery. The individualised group received driving pressure-guided PEEP, whereas the comparator group received 5 cm HO fixed PEEP during surgery. Both groups received a tidal volume of 8 ml kg ideal body weight. The primary outcome analysed per protocol was a composite of pulmonary complications (defined by pre-specified clinical and radiological criteria) within 7 postoperative days after surgery.

Results: Some 384 patients (median age: 67 yr [inter-quartile range: 61-73]; 66 [18%] female) were randomised. Mean (standard deviation) PEEP in patients randomised to individualised PEEP (n=178) was 13.6 cm HO (2.1). Individualised PEEP resulted in lower mean driving pressures (14.7 cm HO [2.6]), compared with 185 patients randomised to standard PEEP (18.4 cm HO [3.2]; mean difference: -3.7 cm HO [95% confidence interval (CI): -4.3 to -3.1 cm HO]; P<0.001). There was no difference in the incidence of pulmonary complications between individualised (25/178 [14.0%]) vs standard PEEP (36/185 [19.5%]; risk ratio [95% CI], 0.72 [0.45-1.15]; P=0.215). Pulmonary complications as a result of desaturation were less frequent in patients randomised to individualised PEEP (8/178 [4.5%], compared with standard PEEP (30/185 [16.2%], risk ratio [95% CI], 0.28 [0.13-0.59]; P=0.001).

Conclusions: Driving pressure-guided PEEP did not decrease the incidence of pulmonary complications within 7 days of laparoscopic or robotic lower abdominal surgery, although uncertainty remains given the lower than anticipated event rate for the primary outcome.

Clinical Trial Registration: KCT0004888 (http://cris.nih.go.kr, registration date: April 6, 2020).