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NCT Number: NCT07594379

Bronchoscopic Airway Clearance for Improving Lung Aeration in Mechanically Ventilated Patients With Atelectasis

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether bedside flexible bronchoscopy-guided airway clearance can improve lung aeration in adult patients who are receiving invasive mechanical ventilation and have atelectasis with a high airway secretion burden.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

Does bedside flexible bronchoscopy-guided airway clearance reduce the proportion of nonaerated lung tissue from baseline to day 5? Does this treatment improve other lung aeration measures, respiratory mechanics, arterial blood gas parameters, pulmonary infection score, ventilator-free days, intensive care unit length of stay, and safety outcomes?

Researchers will compare usual airway care plus bedside flexible bronchoscopy-guided airway clearance with usual airway care alone to see if bronchoscopy-guided airway clearance improves lung aeration and clinical outcomes.

Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups. Participants in the usual care group will receive standard airway management, which may include airway suctioning, postural drainage, humidification, chest physiotherapy, and other routine respiratory care. Participants in the bronchoscopy group will receive the same usual care, plus bedside flexible bronchoscopy-guided airway clearance when predefined criteria for high airway secretion burden are met.

Participants will have clinical assessments during the study, including chest imaging, respiratory mechanics measurements, arterial blood gas tests, pulmonary infection score assessment, and safety monitoring. The main assessment will compare quantitative chest computed tomography findings at baseline and day 5 to evaluate changes in nonaerated lung tissue.

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Key information

Conditions

Atelectasis Lung Diseases Mechanical Ventilation Pulmonary Atelectasis Respiratory Tract Diseases

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Age 18 years or older
  • Receiving invasive mechanical ventilation for at least 48 hours
  • Presence of atelectasis confirmed by chest computed tomography, chest X-ray, or lung ultrasound
  • High airway secretion burden, defined as requiring airway suctioning at least twice per hour during the previous 8 hours
  • Written informed consent obtained from the participant or legally authorized representative

Exclusion criteria

  • Expected duration of artificial airway maintenance less than 5 days
  • Untreated tension pneumothorax Known or suspected aspiration
  • Active intrapulmonary hemorrhage
  • Severe dysfunction of other organs with expected short-term mortality within 7 days or need for palliative care
  • Any other condition judged by the medical team to make the participant unsuitable for the study
  • Informed consent not obtained

Treatment and study plan

Flexible Bronchoscopy-Guided Airway Clearance

Procedure

Bedside flexible bronchoscopy-guided airway clearance will be performed through the artificial airway in mechanically ventilated participants. The procedure will be used to inspect the tracheobronchial tree and remove retained airway secretions or mucus plugs by targeted suctioning. Small-volume saline lavage may be used when secretions are thick or difficult to remove. The intervention will be performed in addition to usual airway care when predefined criteria for high airway secretion burden are met. After the procedure, ventilator settings will be restored according to the study protocol and the participant's clinical condition.

Usual Airway Care

Other

Usual airway care may include airway suctioning, postural drainage, chest physiotherapy, mechanical airway clearance techniques, humidification and heating of inhaled gas, cuff pressure monitoring, and timely clearance of airway secretions according to routine clinical practice.

Primary outcomes

  1. Percent Change in CT-assessed Nonaerated Lung Percentage From Baseline to Day 5

    Time frame: Baseline to Day 5

Secondary outcomes

  1. Percent Change in CT-assessed Normally Aerated Lung Percentage From Baseline to Day 5

    Time frame: Baseline to Day 5, with chest CT performed within 24 hours of each time point

  2. Change in static respiratory system compliance from baseline to Day 5

    Time frame: Baseline to Day 5

    Static respiratory system compliance will be measured under controlled mechanical ventilation. The change from baseline to Day 5 will be calculated as the Day 5 value minus the baseline value.

  3. Change in driving pressure from baseline to Day 5

    Time frame: Baseline and Day 5

    Driving pressure will be calculated as plateau pressure minus positive end-expiratory pressure. The change from baseline to Day 5 will be calculated as the Day 5 value minus the baseline value.

  4. Change in plateau pressure from baseline to Day 5

    Time frame: Baseline and Day 5

    Plateau pressure will be recorded during mechanical ventilation. The change from baseline to Day 5 will be calculated as the Day 5 value minus the baseline value.

  5. Change in PaO2/FiO2 ratio from baseline to Day 5

    Time frame: Baseline and Day 5

  6. Ventilator-free days within 28 days after randomization

    Time frame: From randomization to Day 28

    Ventilator-free days are defined as the number of days alive and free from invasive mechanical ventilation during the first 28 days after randomization. Patients who die before Day 28 will be assigned zero ventilator-free days. Patients who remain on invasive mechanical ventilation for 28 days or longer will also be assigned zero ventilator-free days. For patients successfully liberated from invasive mechanical ventilation and alive at Day 28, ventilator-free days will be calculated as 28 minus the number of days receiving invasive mechanical ventilation.

  7. All-cause mortality within 28 days after randomization

    Time frame: From randomization to Day 28

    All-cause mortality will be defined as death from any cause occurring within 28 days after randomization.

  8. Length of stay in the intensive care unit

    Time frame: From randomization to ICU discharge or death, assessed up to 28 days

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Mengyuan Shen, MD

CONTACT

[email protected]

+8615996997839

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Southeast University, China

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Effect of Bedside Flexible Bronchoscopy-Guided Airway Clearance on Lung Aeration in Mechanically Ventilated Patients With Atelectasis: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2027
Study completion
2028
First posted
May 18, 2026
Registry last updated
May 27, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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