Is routine extubation overnight safe in cardiac surgery patients?

Proportion of early extubation and short-term outcomes after esophagectomy: a retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

The proportion of early extubation after esophagectomy varies among hospitals; however, the impact on clinical outcomes is unclear. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate associations between the proportion of early extubation in hospitals and short-term outcomes after esophagectomy. Because there is no consensus regarding the optimal timing for extubation, the authors considered that hospitals' early extubation proportion reflects the hospital-level extubation strategy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Data of patients who underwent oncologic esophagectomy (July 2010-March 2019) were extracted from a Japanese nationwide inpatient database. The proportion of patients who underwent early extubation (extubation on the day of surgery) at each hospital was assessed and grouped by quartiles: very low- (<11%), low- (11-37%), medium- (38-83%), and high-proportion (≥84%) hospitals. The primary outcome was respiratory complications; secondary outcomes included reintubation, anastomotic leakage, other major complications, and hospitalization costs. Multivariable regression analyses were performed, adjusting for patient demographics, cancer treatments, and hospital characteristics. A restricted cubic spline analysis was also performed for the primary outcome.

RESULTS

Among 37 983 eligible patients across 545 hospitals, early extubation was performed in 17 931 (47%) patients. Early extubation proportions ranged from 0-100% across hospitals. Respiratory complications occurred in 10 270 patients (27%). Multivariable regression analyses showed that high- and medium-proportion hospitals were significantly associated with decreased respiratory complications [odds ratio, 0.46 (95% CI, 0.36-0.58) and 0.43 (0.31-0.60), respectively], reintubation, and hospitalization costs when compared with very low-proportion hospitals. The risk of anastomotic leakage and other major complications did not differ among groups. The restricted cubic spline analysis demonstrated a significant inverse dose-dependent association between the early extubation proportion and the risk of respiratory complications.

CONCLUSION

A higher proportion of early extubation in a hospital was associated with a lower occurrence of respiratory complications, highlighting a potential benefit of early extubation after esophagectomy.

Association Between Pressure Support During Extubation Readiness Testing and Time to First Extubation in Children With Congenital Heart Disease

BACKGROUND

Extubation readiness testing (ERT) is often performed in children with congenital heart disease prior to liberation from mechanical ventilation. The ideal ERT method in this population is unknown. We recently changed our ERT method from variable (10, 8, or 6 cm H2O, depending on endotracheal tube size) to fixed (5 cm H2O) pressure support (PS). Our study assessed the association between this change and time to first extubation and need for re-intubation.

METHODS

We studied 2 temporally distinct cohorts, one where ERT was conducted with variable PS and another using PS fixed at 5 cm H2O. Data were prospectively collected as part of a quality improvement project. The primary outcome was time to first extubation. Secondary outcomes were need for re-intubation and percentage of successful ERTs. We performed Poisson regression or logistic regression for the association between PS during ERT and time to first extubation or re-intubation, respectively.

RESULTS

We included 320 subjects, 186 in the variable PS group and 152 in fixed PS group. In unadjusted analysis, median time to first extubation was longer in the fixed PS group compared to the variable PS group (4.1 [2.0-7.1] d vs 3.1 [1.1-5.9] d, P = .02), and there was no difference in re-intubation rate (11% vs 8%, P = .34). Subjects in the fixed PS group were significantly more likely to be mechanically ventilated after cardiac arrest, have a Society of Thoracic Surgeons-European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (STAT) category of 4 or 5, be extubated on day shift, receive enteral feeds at extubation, have higher respiratory support at extubation, and higher dead-space-to-tidal-volume ratio. After controlling for these variables in multivariable regression, we found no association between the choice of PS and time to first extubation or re-intubation.

CONCLUSIONS

The use of a fixed PS of 5 cm H2O instead of variable PS during ERT was not associated with longer time to first extubation or extubation failure.

Guidelines on enhanced recovery after cardiac surgery under cardiopulmonary bypass or off-pump

OBJECTIVE

To provide recommendations for enhanced recovery after cardiac surgery (ERACS) based on a multimodal perioperative medicine approach in adult cardiac surgery patients with the aim of improving patient satisfaction, reducing postoperative mortality and morbidity, and reducing the length of hospital stay.

DESIGN

A consensus committee of 20 experts from the French Society of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine (Société française d'anesthésie et de réanimation, SFAR) and the French Society of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (Société française de chirurgie thoracique et cardio-vasculaire, SFCTCV) was convened. A formal conflict-of-interest policy was developed at the onset of the process and enforced throughout. The entire guideline process was conducted independently of any industry funding. The authors were advised to follow the principles of the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system to guide the assessment of the quality of evidence.

METHODS

Six fields were defined: (1) selection of the patient pathway and its information; (2) preoperative management and rehabilitation; (3) anaesthesia and analgesia for cardiac surgery; (4) surgical strategy for cardiac surgery and bypass management; (5) patient blood management; and (6) postoperative enhanced recovery. For each field, the objective of the recommendations was to answer questions formulated according to the PICO model (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome). Based on these questions, an extensive bibliographic search was carried out and analyses were performed using the GRADE approach. The recommendations were formulated according to the GRADE methodology and then voted on by all the experts according to the GRADE grid method.

RESULTS

The SFAR/SFCTCV guideline panel provided 33 recommendations on the management of patients undergoing cardiac surgery under cardiopulmonary bypass or off-pump. After three rounds of voting and several amendments, a strong agreement was reached for the 33 recommendations. Of these recommendations, 10 have a high level of evidence (7 GRADE 1+ and 3 GRADE 1-); 19 have a moderate level of evidence (15 GRADE 2+ and 4 GRADE 2-); and 4 are expert opinions. Finally, no recommendations were provided for 3 questions.

CONCLUSIONS

Strong agreement existed among the experts to provide recommendations to optimise the complete perioperative management of patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

Association between night-time extubation and clinical outcomes in adult patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Whether night-time extubation is associated with clinical outcomes is unclear.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the association between night-time extubation and the reintubation rate, mortality, ICU and in-hospital length of stay in adult patients, compared with daytime extubation.

DESIGN

A systematic review and meta-analysis.

DATA SOURCES

PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL and Web of Science from inception to 2 January 2021 (PROSPERO registration - CRD42020222812).

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Randomised, quasi and cluster randomised, and nonrandomised studies describing associations between adult patients' outcomes and time of extubation (daytime/night-time) in intensive care or postanaesthesia care units.

RESULTS

Seven retrospective studies were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis, for a total of 293 663 patients. All the studies were performed in United States (USA). All the studies were judged at moderate risk of bias for reintubation and mortality. The analyses were conducted with random effects models. The analyses from adjusted estimates demonstrated no association between night-time extubation and increased risk of either reintubation (OR 1.00; 95% CI 0.88 to 1.13; P = 1.00; I2 = 66%; low-certainty evidence) or all-cause mortality at the longest available follow-up (OR 1.11; 95% CI 0.87 to 1.42; P = 0.39; I2 = 79%; low-certainty evidence), in comparison with daytime extubation. Analyses from unadjusted data for reintubation, mortality and ICU or in-hospital length of stay showed no significant association with night-time extubation. Analyses based on type of admission, number of centres or duration of mechanical ventilation showed no significant subgroup effects.

CONCLUSION

Night-time extubation of adult patients was not associated with higher adjusted risks for reintubation or death, in comparison with daytime extubation, but the certainty of the evidence was low.

Challenging Convention: Daytime Versus Nighttime Extubation in the Pediatric ICU

BACKGROUND

The majority of pediatric extubations occur during day shift hours. There is a time-dependent relationship between mechanical ventilation duration and complications. It is not known if extubation shift (day vs night) correlates with pediatric extubation outcomes. Pediatric ventilation duration may be unnecessarily prolonged if extubation is routinely delayed until day shift hours.

METHODS

We hypothesized that extubation failure would not correlate with shift of extubation and that ventilation duration at first extubation and that length of stay in the pediatric ICU (PICU) would be shorter for children extubated at night. This was a retrospective cohort study within one tertiary care, 24-bed, academic PICU.

RESULTS

582 ventilation encounters were included, representing 517 unique subjects. Status epilepticus was a more common diagnosis among night shift extubations (P = .005), whereas surgical airway conditions were more common among day shift extubations (P = .02). Mechanical ventilation duration at first extubation (37.6 vs 62.5 h, P < .001) and length of stay in the PICU (2.8 vs 4.5 d, P < .001) were shorter for night shift extubations. The extubation failure rate was 10.3% for day shift and 8.1% for night shift (P = .40). Logistic regression modeling at the level of the unique subject indicated that extubation shift was not associated with extubation failure (P = .44). The majority of re-intubation events occurred on the shift opposite of extubation. There was no difference in complications according to shift of re-intubation (P = .72).

CONCLUSIONS

Extubation failure was not independently associated with extubation shift in this single-center study. Ventilation liberation should be considered at the first opportunity dictated by clinical data and patient-specific factors rather than by the time of day at centers with similar resources.

Association of time of day and extubation success in very low birthweight infants: a multicenter cohort study

OBJECTIVE

To determine the association of overnight extubation (OE) with extubation success.

STUDY DESIGN

Retrospective cohort study in three NICUs from 2016 to 2020. Infants without congenital anomalies, less than 1500 grams at birth, who were ventilated and received an extubation attempt were included. Primary exposure was OE (7:00 pm-6:59 am) and outcome was extubation success defined as no mechanical ventilation for at least 7 days after extubation.

RESULTS

A total of 76/379 (20%) infants received OE. Infants extubated during the daytime were older and had higher illness severity markers. Extubation success rates did not differ for overnight (57/76, 75%) versus daytime extubations (231/303, 76%) after adjusting for confounders (adjusted relative risk 0.95, 95% CI 0.82-1.11).

CONCLUSION

Though infants in our cohort undergoing daytime and OE were dissimilar, extubation success rates did not differ. Larger multicenter studies are needed to test our findings and identify markers of extubation readiness in preterm infants.

Prolonged use of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation after extubation among patients in the intensive care unit following cardiac surgery: The predictors and its impact on patient outcome

This retrospective, observational cohort study aimed to determine the independent risk factors and impact of prolonged non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) after extubation among patients in the intensive care unit following cardiac surgery. Patients who received prophylactic NIPPV after extubation were categorized into prolonged (NIPPV duration >3 days, n = 83) and non-prolonged groups (NIPPV duration ≤3 days, n = 105). The perioperative characteristics and hospital outcomes were recorded. The multivariate analyses identified the preoperative residual volume/total lung capacity (RV/TLC) ratio (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 1.10; 95% CI:1.01–1.19, p = 0.022) and postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) with Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) stage 2–3, 48 h after surgery (AOR: 3.87; 95% CI:1.21–12.37, p = 0.023) as independent predictors of prolonged NIPPV. Patients with both RV/TLC ratio > 46.5% and KDIGO stage 2–3 showed a highly increased risk of prolonged NIPPV (HR 27.17, p = 0.010), which was in turn associated with higher risk of postoperative complications and prolonged ICU and hospital stays. Preoperative RV/TLC ratio and postoperative AKI could identify patients at higher risk for prolonged NIPPV associated with poor outcomes. These findings may allow early recognition of patients who are at a higher risk for prolonged NIPPV, and help refine the perioperative management and critical care.