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
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
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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
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About 22 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Aug 2026
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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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
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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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 Hide 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.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Hospital Clínico UC CHRISTUS, Unidad de Paciente Crítico
RECRUITINGSantiago, Santiago Metropolitan, Chile
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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