Extubation delayed in 37.7% of mechanically ventilated adults

Key takeaways:

About 38% of adults underwent delayed extubation, spending a median of 2 more days on ventilation.

More than 50% did not have any of the factors that emerged as the top reasons for delayed extubation.

Within 6 hours of passing a spontaneous breathing trial, nearly 40% of adults receiving mechanical ventilation did not undergo extubation, according to results published in Annals of the American Thoracic Society .

“These results demonstrate how important close communication is between respiratory therapists, nurses and physicians when determining the safest time to extubate patients,” Anna K. Barker , MD, PhD , clinical instructor in internal medicine and research fellow at the University of Michigan Medical School, told Healio.

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