Effect of PEEP on Cardiac Function in Cardiac Surgery Patients

This study is looking at how changes in PEEP (Positive End-Expiratory Pressure), a setting on breathing machines, affect the heart's function in adults having heart surgery. Researchers will use EIT (Electrical Impedance Tomography) to help find the "optimal PEEP" setting. The main goal is to see how PEEP affects the connection between the right side of your heart and your lungs (RV-pulmonary artery coupling). This is important because the right side of the heart plays a big role in recovery after heart surgery. You could join if you are 18 or older, scheduled for heart surgery, and will already be having a TEE (transesophageal echocardiography) and a pulmonary artery catheter placed as part of your routine care. The study is currently unclear on its recruitment status and plans to enroll 28 participants.

Study design: This is an interventional study planning to enroll 28 adult participants. It is a single-center, prospective study.
What's involved: You would undergo a standardized PEEP titration maneuver after anesthesia and before surgery, during which EIT data will be collected. This will take approximately 20-25 minutes.
Compensation: Not stated in the trial record.
Follow-up: The primary endpoint is measured during the PEEP titration sequence after anesthesia and before surgical intervention.

AI-generated from the public study record. Only the study team can confirm whether you're eligible — confirm details with them before making decisions.

Effect of PEEP on Cardiac Function

Enrolling by Invitation

NAAges 18+InterventionalBasic science

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

~28 participants

Updated 2026-07-01 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What's tested:EIT Guided PEEP Trial

At a glance

Recruiting sites

0 of 1 listed site is recruiting right now

RecruitingSuspended, closed, or not yet open

What they're measuring

Right ventricle-pulmonary artery coupling (Ees/Ea)

Measured over During the standardized PEEP titration sequence after induction of anesthesia and before surgical intervention (approximately 20-25 minutes)

Conditions

Cardiac Surgery Subjects

Where it's being run

1 sites across 1 states

Massachusetts1

Who to contact

This trial hasn't published a contact. View it on ClinicalTrials.gov

Do you actually qualify for this trial?

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Eligibility criteria

Inclusion

1\. Age ≥ 18 years

2\. Scheduled to undergo cardiac surgery requiring general anesthesia

3\. Planned use of intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) as part of routine clinical care

4\. Planned placement of a pulmonary artery catheter as part of clinical care (Pulmonary artery catheter placement will be performed solely based on clinical judgment by the treating anesthesia and surgical teams. At our institution, pulmonary artery catheters are routinely placed in cardiac surgery patients with clinical indications including:

preoperative pulmonary hypertension (e.g., estimated PCWP \>20 mmHg or elevated filling pressures on preoperative echocardiography),

right ventricular dysfunction or suspected RV failure (preoperative visual TTE assessment),

significant cardiopulmonary comorbidity,

or anticipated complex, prolonged, or high-acuity cardiac surgery. The research team will not influence decisions regarding catheter placement. Only patients already scheduled to receive a clinically indicated pulmonary artery catheter will be eligible for enrollment.)

5\. Able and willing to provide written informed consent prior to surgery

Exclusion

1\. Significant arrhythmia (e.g., atrial fibrillation with uncontrolled ventricular response or other rhythm disturbances) that would interfere with reliable pressure waveform or echocardiographic measurements.

2\. Severe valvular disease where protocol-related PEEP changes may pose unacceptable hemodynamic risk, as determined by the clinical team.

3\. Significant chronic lung disease or other pulmonary pathology where PEEP adjustments may be unsafe (e.g., severe COPD with dynamic hyperinflation, bullous lung disease), at the discretion of the anesthesia team.

4\. Contraindication to changes in PEEP, including inability to tolerate the planned PEEP titration due to hemodynamic instability or clinician concern.

5\. Any contraindication to TEE (if clinically required TEE is not performed or is contraindicated, the subject will not be eligible)

6\. Investigator or clinical team discretion (e.g., safety concerns, inability to obtain reliable measurements, or conflict with other perioperative research protocols)

What this trial measures

Right ventricle-pulmonary artery coupling (Ees/Ea)During the standardized PEEP titration sequence after induction of anesthesia and before surgical intervention (approximately 20-25 minutes)
Right ventricle-pulmonary artery (RV-PA) coupling ratio (Ees/Ea) assessed using simultaneous transesophageal echocardiography and hemodynamic monitoring at four predefined PEEP levels (optimal PEEP + 5 cmH₂O, optimal PEEP, optimal PEEP - 5 cmH₂O, and PEEP 0 cmH₂O \[baseline\]) during a standardized stepwise PEEP titration sequence.

Trialytics