Awake prone positioning in non-intubated patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure due to COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Abstract Background: Awake prone positioning (APP) has been advocated to improve oxygenation and prevent intubations of patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This paper aims to synthesize the available evidence on the efficacy of APP.Methods: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies to compare oxygenation parameters in-hospital intubation rate in patients treated with APP or with standard care.Results: A total of 46 published and 4 unpublished observational studies that included 2994 patients were included. APP was associated with significant improvement of various oxygenation parameters in 19 studies (n=381) that reported this outcome. The intubation rate was 27% (95%CI, 19 to 37%) in the 870 patients treated with APP, as compared to 30% (95%CI, 20 to 42%) in the 852 patients treated with usual care (p=0.71).Conclusions: On the basis of the available evidence, it is not possible to demonstrate efficacy of APP for patients with COVID-19 acute respiratory failure, as assessed by the need for invasive ventilation. Routine implementation of APP outside of a clinical trial is not supported by current evidence. Randomized controlled clinical studies are urgently needed to definitively assess the utility of APP in these patients.Registered on PROSPERO on August 3d, 2020, CRD42020201947.