The effect of prone positioning on ventilator parameters, blood gas levels, and ventilator-associated pneumonia in intensive care unit patients: a randomized controlled trial

Objectives This study was planned to compare the prone position and non-prone position groups and to evaluate arterial blood gas results, mechanical ventilator values and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) status before, during, and after patients were brought back to the non-prone position. Design This study is a randomized controlled trial with a parallel-group design and a 1:1 allocation ratio. A block randomisation method was used to ensure balanced allocation between two groups. Setting The research was conducted in the 14-bed and 26-bed general ICUs of two private hospitals on the European side of Istanbul. Participants The 94 eligible participants were randomly divided into two groups. 52 participants were assigned to the prone position group, while 42 participants were assigned to the non-prone position group, which served as the control group. In the end, 40 participants were in each group. Intervention The intervention involved placing patients in the prone position and monitoring their arterial blood gas results, mechanical ventilator values, and VAP status at multiple stages: before, during, and after returning them to the non-prone position. Each patient was followed for a minimum of 5 days. Results The majority of the participants were male (51.2%) and aged 45-64 (48.8%). The comparison of experimental and control groups indicated statistically significant difference in saturation, FiO(2), inspiratory-expiratory tidal volume, and blood gas levels of the patients in the treatment group (p = 0.001; p < 0.01). Conclusions The change in the experimental group was greater than in the control group. In conclusion, the mechanical ventilator parameters and blood gas levels of the patients in the treatment group were better than those of the patients in the control group. It is recommended as an effective practice in patients receiving prone position mechanical ventilation (MV). Clinical trial registration number and registration date: NCT05760716/ March 6, 2023 (This trial was registered retrospectively at ClinicalTrials.gov (Registration Number: NCT05760716) after its completion due to demanded revisions. The integrity of the data and adherence to the study protocol were ensured throughout. The trial adhered to ethical standards (ethics committee approval, informed consent) even if it was not registered prospectively).