Oscar Peñuelas1,2, Fernando Frutos-Vivar1,2, Cristina Fernández3, Antonio Anzueto4, Scott K. Epstein6, Carlos Apezteguía7, Marco González8, Nicolas Nin1,2, Konstantinos Raymondos9, Vinko Tomicic10, Pablo Desmery11, Yaseen Arabi12, Paolo Pelosi13, Michael Kuiper14, Manuel Jibaja15, Dimitros Matamis16, Niall D. Ferguson5, Andrés Esteban1,2 and for the Ventila Group*. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine Vol 184. pp. 430-437, (2011)
Rationale: A new classification of patients based on the duration of liberation of mechanical ventilation has been proposed.
Objectives: To analyze outcomes based on the new weaning classification in a cohort of mechanically ventilated patients.
Methods: Secondary analysis included 2,714 patients who were weaned and underwent scheduled extubation from a cohort of 4,968 adult patients mechanically ventilated for more than 12 hours.
Measurements and Main Results: Patients were classified according to a new weaning classification: 1,502 patients (55%) as simple weaning, 1,058 patients (39%) as difficult weaning, and 154 (6%) as prolonged weaning. Variables associated with prolonged weaning (>7 d) were: severity at admission (odds ratio [OR] per unit of Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, 1.01; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.001–1.02), duration of mechanical ventilation before first attempt of weaning (OR per day, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.06–1.13), chronic pulmonary disease other than chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OR, 13.23; 95% CI, 3.44–51.05), pneumonia as the reason to start mechanical ventilation (OR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.07–3.08), and level of positive end-expiratory pressure applied before weaning (OR per unit, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.04–1.14). The prolonged weaning group had a nonsignificant trend toward a higher rate of reintubation (P = 0.08), tracheostomy (P = 0.15), and significantly longer length of stay and higher mortality in the intensive care unit (OR for death, 1.97; 95% CI, 1.17–3.31). The adjusted probability of death remained constant until Day 7, at which point it increased to 12.1%.
Conclusions: Only patients who need more than 7 days for weaning have an increased mortality.
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