Driving Pressure Optimization, RV-PA Coupling, and AKI in Mechanically Ventilated Critically Ill Patients

September 22, 2026 updated by: Nardin Aymn Boshra

Effect of Driving Pressure Optimization on RV-PA Coupling (TAPSE/PASP Ratio) and Acute Kidney Injury Progression in Mechanically Ventilated Critically Ill Patients

This study evaluates the effect of driving pressure optimization on right ventricular-pulmonary artery (RV-PA) coupling, assessed by TAPSE/PASP ratio, and its association with acute kidney injury (AKI) progression in mechanically ventilated critically ill patients.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion to pulmonary artery systolic pressure (TAPSE/PASP) ratio is a validated, non-invasive bedside surrogate for RV-PA coupling, shown to correlate closely with invasively measured pressure-volume loop indices of RV-arterial coupling and to carry independent prognostic value in heart failure and pulmonary hypertension populations. More recently, TAPSE-based coupling indices have also demonstrated prognostic relevance in general critically ill populations, supporting their applicability outside the setting of chronic cardiopulmonary disease.

Separately, driving pressure (the difference between plateau pressure and PEEP) has emerged as a key determinant of ventilator-induced lung injury and mortality in ARDS, independent of tidal volume or PEEP in isolation, building on earlier evidence that lower tidal volume ventilation strategies improve outcomes in acute lung injury and ARDS.

This study will investigate whether a simple standardized lung-protective ventilation strategy aimed at optimizing ventilator driving pressure can improve RV-PA coupling, assessed by TAPSE/PASP ratio, and reduce AKI progression in mechanically ventilated critically ill patients.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

90

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age ≥18 years.
  • ICU admission.
  • Invasive mechanical ventilation expected to continue for ≥48 hours.
  • Adequate transthoracic echocardiographic acoustic window for assessment of TAPSE/PASP.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Pre-existing end-stage renal disease on chronic dialysis.
  • Severe pulmonic or tricuspid valve disease precluding reliable TAPSE/PASP assessment.
  • Pre-existing RV dysfunction of a non-pulmonary cause.
  • Pregnancy.
  • Patients expected to die within 24 hours.
  • Technically inadequate echocardiographic window.
  • Clinical contraindication to the proposed ventilation strategy.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Driving Pressure-Optimized Ventilation Group

Patients ventilated using a standardized protocol targeting driving pressure optimization (ΔP ≤15 cmH2O]) through adjustment of tidal volume and/or PEEP, in addition to standard critical care management.
Other: Driving Pressure-Guided Ventilator Optimization

A ventilator management strategy in which tidal volume and/or PEEP are titrated to minimize driving pressure (plateau pressure - PEEP) to a pre-specified target, aiming to improve RV-PA coupling and reduce AKI progression.
No Intervention: Standard Ventilation Group

Patients ventilated according to standard ventilation practice

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
TAPSE/PASP ratio (RV-PA coupling)
Time Frame: On admission and 48-72 hours after

Baseline transthoracic echocardiography will be performed before initiation of the intervention whenever feasible, recording: TAPSE, PASP (estimated from tricuspid regurgitant jet velocity and estimated right atrial pressure), MAPSE (LV longitudinal function parameter), Inferior vena cava (IVC) collapsibility index.

Repeat echocardiography will be performed approximately 48-72 hours after initiation of the intervention, using the same measurements.
On admission and 48-72 hours after

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Acute kidney injury progression
Time Frame: 1 week

Serum creatinine and urine output will be recorded at baseline and daily for the first 7 days of mechanical ventilation, or until ICU discharge/death if earlier.

AKI will be staged according to KDIGO criteria with primary renal endpoint:

AKI progression, defined as an increase in KDIGO stage during the 7-day observation period. New AKI and worsening of established AKI may also be described separately.
1 week

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Nardin Aymn Boshra

Collaborators

Assiut University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Nardin Girgis, Assiut University
  • Study Chair: Alaa El-Din Abdel-Moneim El-Sayed Othman, Professor of internal medicine
  • Study Director: Radwa Awad Abd-ElHafaz, Lecturer of internal medicine and nephorology

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

October 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

August 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

April 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 17, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 22, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

September 23, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 23, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 22, 2026

Last Verified

September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Driving Pressure Optimization

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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