Acute bag-valve breathing maneuvers plus manual chest compression is safe during stable septic shock: a randomized clinical trial

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of bag-valve breathing maneuvers combined with standard manual chest compression techniques on safety, hemodynamics and oxygenation in stable septic shock patients. DESIGN: A parallel, assessor-blinded, randomized trial of two groups. A computer-generated list of random numbers was prepared by an independent researcher to allocate treatments. SETTING: The Intensive Care Unit at Hospital São Lucas, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul. PARTICIPANTS: Fifty-two subjects were assessed for eligibility, and 32 were included. All included subjects (n = 32) received the allocated intervention (n = 19 for the Experimental Group and n = 13 for the Control Group). INTERVENTION: Twenty minutes of bag-valve breathing maneuvers combined with manual chest compression techniques (Experimental Group) or chest compression, as routinely used at our intensive care unit (Control Group). Follow-up was performed immediately after and at 30 minutes after the intervention. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Mean artery pressure. RESULTS: All included subjects completed the trial (N = 32). We found no relevant effects on mean artery pressure (p = 0.17), heart rate (p = 0.50) or mean pulmonary artery pressure (p = 0.89) after adjusting for subject age and weight. Both groups were identical regarding oxygen consumption after the data adjustment (p = 0.84). Peripheral oxygen saturation tended to increase over time in both groups (p = 0.05), and there was no significant association between cardiac output and venous oxygen saturation (p = 0.813). No clinical deterioration was observed. CONCLUSION: A single session of bag-valve breathing maneuvers combined with manual chest compression is hemodynamically safe for stable septic-shocked subjects over the short-term.