Course of weaning from prolonged mechanical ventilation after cardiac surgery

Tex Heart Inst J. 2006;33(2):122-9.

Abstract

In order to determine the temporal pattern of weaning from mechanical ventilation for patients undergoing prolonged mechanical ventilation after cardiac surgery, we performed a retrospective review of 21 patients' weaning courses at our long-term acute care hospital. Using multiple regression analysis of an estimate of individual patients' percentage of mechanical ventilator support per day (%MVSD), we determined that 14 of 21 patients (67%) showed a statistically significant quadratic or cubic relationship between time and % MVSD. These patients showed little or no improvement in their ventilator dependence until a point in time when, abruptly, they began to make rapid progress (a "wean turning point"), after which they progressed to discontinuation of mechanical ventilation in a relatively short period of time. The other 7 patients appeared to have a similar weaning pattern, although the data were not statistically significant. Most patients in the study group weaned from the ventilator through a specific temporal pattern that is newly described herein. Data analysis suggested that the mechanism for the development of a wean turning point was improvement of pulmonary mechanics rather than improvement in gas exchange or respiratory load. Although these observations need to be confirmed by a prospective trial, they may have implications for weaning cardiac surgery patients from prolonged mechanical ventilation, and possibly for weaning a broader group of patients who require prolonged mechanical ventilation.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Cardiac Surgical Procedures*
  • Comorbidity
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Time Factors
  • Ventilator Weaning* / methods
  • Work of Breathing