Extubation failure in pediatric intensive care unit: a retrospective cohort study

ABSTRACT In the pediatric intensive care unit (ICU), extubation failure may increase mortality risk. This study aimed: (1) to verify the rate of extubation failure in the pediatric ICU of a public hospital located in the city of Bauru (São Paulo, Brazil); (2) to identify the main cause attributed to extubation failure; (3) to evaluate whether age and time of invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) are characteristics associated to extubation failure; (4) to evaluate whether the length of stay in the ICU/hospital is longer among patients who presented extubation failure. A retrospective study was performed with 89 hospitalized patients from May 2017 to July 2018. Results showed an extubation failure rate corresponding to 16%. The main cause attributed to extubation failure was laryngeal stridor, totaling 57% of the cases. Intergroup comparison (success vs. failure of extubation) showed no differences in relation to age (p=0.294) and IMV time (p=0.228). However, we observed that the extubation failure group had longer ICU (p=0.000) and hospital time (p=0.010). In this way, we conclude that the rate of extubation failure is in agreement with other studies. Laryngeal stridor was responsible for more than half of cases of extubation failure. Although IMV time and age were not associated with the extubation failure, they contributed to a longer stay in the ICU and in the hospital.