Effect of early and later prone positioning on outcomes in invasively ventilated COVID-19 patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome: analysis of the prospective COVID-19 critical care consortium cohort study

Journal article

Background: Prone positioning of patients with COVID-19 undergoing invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) is widely used, but evidence of efficacy remains sparse. The COVID-19 Critical Care Consortium has generated one of the largest global datasets on the management and outcomes of critically ill COVID-19 patients. This prospective cohort study investigated the association between prone positioning and mortality and in particular focussed on timing of treatment. Methods: We investigated the incidence, demographic profile, management and outcomes of proned patients undergoing IMV for COVID-19 in the study. We compared outcomes between patients prone positioned within 48 h of IMV to those (i) never proned, and (ii) proned only after 48 h. Results: 3131 patients had data on prone positioning, 1482 (47%) were never proned, 1034 (33%) were proned within 48 h and 615 (20%) were proned only after 48 h of commencement of IMV. 28-day (hazard ratio 0.82, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.68, 0.98, p = 0.03) and 90-day (hazard ratio 0.81, 95% CI 0.68, 0.96, p = 0.02) mortality risks were lower in those patients proned within 48 h of IMV compared to those never proned. However, there was no evidence for a statistically significant association between prone positioning after 48 h with 28-day (hazard ratio 0.93, 95% CI 0.75, 1.14, p = 0.47) or 90-day mortality (hazard ratio 0.95, 95% CI 0.78, 1.16, p = 0.59). Conclusions: Prone positioning is associated with improved outcomes in patients with COVID-19, but timing matters. We found no association between later proning and patient outcome.

Authors: Simpkin, AJ; McNicholas, BA; Hannon, D; Bartlett, R; Chiumello, D

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Journal: Annals of Intensive Care
• Volume: 15
• Issue: 1
• Article number: 22
• Publication date: 2025-02-10
• Acceptance date: 2024-12-07
• DOI: 10.1186/s13613-025-01422-6
• EISSN: 2110-5820
• ISSN: 2110-5820
• Language: English
• Keywords: COVID-19; Cox proportional hazards models; Prone positioning; Invasive mechanical ventilation; Proning