Improving Our Understanding of Respiratory Muscle Training to Facilitate Weaning From Mechanical Ventilation in the ICU

Mechanical ventilation is a life-saving treatment frequently applied in intensive care unit (ICU). Nonetheless, by putting at rest the respiratory muscles, it can lead to respiratory muscle weakness and atrophy, which are accompanied by prolonged duration of mechanical ventilation, difficult weaning and increased ICU mortality. Despite a strong theoretical rationale and some evidence supporting the use of inspiratory muscle training (IMT) to address respiratory muscle weakness and atrophy, the optimal approach to IMT remains largely uncertain. In fact, mechanistic studies evaluating physiological adaptations that occur in respiratory muscles of mechanically ventilated patients in response to different training regimens have not been conducted so far. The aim of this study is to comprehensively investigate changes in respiratory muscle function in response to three different conditions that patients will be exposed to during their period of weaning from mechanical ventilation.

NCT Number	NCT04658498
Lead Sponsor	KU Leuven
Conditions	Weaning Failure
Enrollment	90 participants
Start Date	2023-02-01
Primary Completion	2026-10 (estimated)
Study Completion	2026-10 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-03-18