Patients
This prospective study was conducted in the paediatric intensive care unit of First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China. Study subjects included 61 consecutive patients between January 2019 and May 2019, who were aged less than 18 years. The institutional ethics committee of the hospital approved the study protocol (ChiCTR1800020196). The parents or guardians of the eligible children provided written informed consent. An information sheet was provided for the parents or guardians of all the participants.
All children who received mechanical ventilation support for ≥ 48 h and met standard criteria for weaning readiness (improvement in the cause of primary disease, PaO2/FiO2 > 200, positive end-expiratory pressure(PEEP) ≤ 5–10 cm H2O, FiO2 ≤ 50%, and hemodynamically stable in the absence of vasopressors) were included in the study.[17] If the child experienced a known neuromuscular disease (such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Guillain-Barre, or myasthenia gravis), cervical spinal cord injury, pneumothorax, death during mechanical ventilation, or if there was an unwillingness of the parents or guardians to participate in the study, then that child was excluded from the study.
Study Design
All eligibles underwent the spontaneous breathing test (SBT), which was performed using pressure support trials with a pressure support (8 cm H2O) and 5 cm H2O PEEP using Drager Evita 4 ventilator for 30 min.[2] Ultrasound measurements and PImax were taken at the fifth minute after the start of SBT. The patient passed the SBT if the exhaled tidal volume was equal to or above 5 mL/kg of ideal body weight, and if respiratory rate remained within the targeted range for age (< 6 months 20–50 breaths/min; 6 months – 2 yr. 15–45 breaths/min; 2 yr. – 5 yr. 15–40 breaths/min; > 5 yr. 10–35 breaths/min).[18] All patients accepted the Venturi inside the mask for oxygen therapy after passing the SBT. Successful weaning was defined as the ability to maintain spontaneous breathing for > 48 h.
PImax Measurement
The measurement of PImax was occluding the airway at end expiration through a unidirectional valve, and maintained for approximately 10 breaths or 20 s.[19] Finally, the maximum negative pressure displayed by the ventilator was recorded.
Ultrasonographic Measurements
All patients were placed in a semi-recumbent position with the head of the bed at a 30-degree angle. Two experienced sonographers performed ultrasound measurements by using the same portable ultrasound machine (Mindray, M7 series, China), and the evaluators were blinded to the results of the SBT prior to measurement. In our study, only the right hemidiaphragm was measured because the right hemidiaphragm was more feasible and repeatable compared with the left hemidiaphragm.[20] Diaphragm thickness (Tdi) was measured by using a 10 MHz linear probe at the zone of apposition at the right eighth or ninth intercostal space, between the anterior axillary and the midaxillary lines. The direction of the ultrasound probe was perpendicular to the diaphragm. At this position, the diaphragmatic ultrasound image was a hypoechoic structure between two echoic lines (the diaphragmatic pleura and the peritoneal membrane) in the B-mode (Fig. 1). In the same position, M-mode ultrasonography was used to measure resting Tdi at end-expiration (Tdi-exp) and end-inspiration (Tdi-insp), respectively (Fig. 2). The Tdi measurement was the inner edge of the peritoneal membrane to the inner edge of the diaphragmatic pleura. The calculation formula of diaphragmatic thickening fraction (DTF) was (Tdi-insp - Tdi-exp)/Tdi-exp.
For the measurement of diaphragmatic excursion (DE), a 5 MHz probe was placed at the junction of the right mid-clavicle line and the right subcostal margin, where the probe direction paralleled the diaphragmatic movement. The diaphragmatic movement toward the probe during inspiration was recorded as an upward motion of the M-mode tracing, and the movement was opposite during expiration. In a breathing cycle, the amplitude of DE was the maximum point that moved vertically downward to the lowest point in M-mode (Fig. 3).[21, 22] The DE was continuously measured for 3 times in free breathing, and then the average was taken.
Statistical Analysis
Analyses were carried out using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 22.0 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY). Depending on whether distribution was normal or non-normal, continuous variables were described as mean ± SD or median (interquartile range). Categorical variables were described as n(%). Continuous variables were compared with Student’s t-test or Mann-Whitney U test. Depending on sample size, categorical variables were compared with Chi-squared test or Fisher’s exact test. The correlation analyses are conducted using the Pearson method to test the relationship between DTF, PImax, and DE. To determine the best cut off for DE and DTF to predict weaning success, we calculated area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC). For all final comparisons, a p-value less than or equal to 0.05 was considered statistically significant.