Adjunct therapies during mechanical ventilation: airway clearance techniques, therapeutic aerosols, and gases

Mechanically ventilated patients in respiratory failure often require adjunct therapies to address special needs such as inhaled drug delivery to alleviate airway obstruction, treat pulmonary infection, or stabilize gas exchange, or therapies that enhance pulmonary hygiene. These therapies generally are supportive in nature rather than curative. Currently, most lack high-level evidence supporting their routine use. This overview describes the rationale and examines the evidence supporting adjunctive therapies during mechanical ventilation. Both mechanistic and clinical research suggests that intrapulmonary percussive ventilation may enhance pulmonary secretion mobilization and might reverse atelectasis. However, its impact on outcomes such ICU stay is uncertain. The most crucial issue is whether aerosolized antibiotics should be used to treat ventilator-associated pneumonia, particularly when caused by multi-drug resistant pathogens. There is encouraging evidence from several studies supporting its use, at least in individual cases of pneumonia non-responsive to systemic antibiotic therapy. Inhaled pulmonary vasodilators provide at least short-term improvement in oxygenation and may be useful in stabilizing pulmonary gas exchange in complex management situations. Small uncontrolled studies suggest aerosolized heparin with N-acetylcysteine might break down pulmonary casts and relieve airway obstruction in patients with severe inhalation injury. Similar low-level evidence suggests that heliox is effective in reducing airway pressure and improving ventilation in various forms of lower airway obstruction. These therapies generally are supportive and may facilitate patient management. However, because they have not been shown to improve patient outcomes, it behooves clinicians to use these therapies parsimoniously and to monitor their effectiveness carefully.