A trial is underway to assess the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications in patients undergoing and to study current practices of mechanical ventilation and the potential link between ventilatory parameters and postoperative pulmonary complications.
The Assessment of Ventilatory Management During General Anesthesia for Robotic Surgery (AVATaR) trial is an international observational, prospective study involving more than a dozen institutions in the United States and elsewhere, with the goal of eventually recruiting 40-50 institutions worldwide. Enrollment of consecutive patients undergoing mechanical ventilation for robotic surgery is ongoing. Exclusions are pregnant patients and those procedures not carried out in the OR.
A predefined composite of pulmonary complications was the primary outcome measured. These predefined complications are recorded regularly from medical chart until the first 5 postoperative days, discharge from hospital, or death, whatever comes first.
For full details and recruitment information on the AVATaR study (NCT02989415), go to clinicaltrials.gov.