Incremental dead space versus capping trial to predict the Post-Decannulation respiratory status in tracheostomized critically ill patients: a physiological randomized crossover study

NCT ID NCT07810166

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First seen Sep 09, 2026 · Last updated Sep 09, 2026

Summary

Some critically ill patients need a breathing tube placed directly into the windpipe (tracheostomy) because they require long-term help from a breathing machine. Before this tube can be safely removed (decannulation), medical team need to confirm the patient is ready to breathe on their own through the nose and mouth again. The most common way to check this is a "capping trial," in which the tube is blocked so air must pass through the upper airway, similar to normal breathing. However, because the tube itself remains in place during this test, it narrows the airway and may make breathing harder than it would be if the tube were actually removed. This could cause some patients to fail the test even though they are truly ready for the tube to come out, leading to unnecessary delays. This study will compare the standard capping trial with a new approach that instead adds extra tubing (dead space) to the breathing circuit, without blocking the airway, to more closely copy the breathing effort patients will experience once the tube is removed. Each participant will undergo both methods, in random order, during a single study day, with breathing effort, muscle activity, and comfort measured during each method and again after the tube is actually removed. The goal is to determine which method more accurately predicts how a patient will actually breathe once the tracheostomy tube is taken out.

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Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

About 22 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Aug 2026

Expected to finish

Dec 2028

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Adult patients (≥18 years) admitted to the ICU. * Presence of a tracheostomy due to prolonged mechanical ventilation (≥14 days). * Clinically considered ready for decannulation, according to institutional criteria (e.g., stable gas exchange, minimal secretions, effective cough, and tolerance to spontaneous breathing). * Ability to maintain spontaneous breathing without mechanical ventilation for more than 48 consecutive hours. * Able to cooperate and follow basic commands (RASS between -1 and +1). * Written informed consent obtained from patient. Exclusion Criteria: * Neuromuscular disease affecting respiratory muscles (e.g., myasthenia gravis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). * Hemodynamic instability. * Severe agitation or delirium precluding cooperation (RASS \< -2 or \> +2). * Structural airway abnormalities (e.g., subglottic stenosis, tracheomalacia). * Pregnancy. * Contraindications for esophageal balloon catheter insertion (e.g., severe coagulopathy, esophageal varices, and history of esophageal or gastric surgery). * Refusal to participate by the attending physician.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

Critical Illness

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

How to take part

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  1. The places running it

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  2. The official record

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Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Hospital Clínico UC CHRISTUS, Unidad de Paciente Crítico

    RECRUITING

    Santiago, Santiago Metropolitan, Chile

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