Safety of Positive Pressure Extubation Technique

Laboratory studies suggest applying positive pressure without endotracheal suction during cuff deflation and extubation. Although some studies reported better physiological outcomes (e.g. arterial blood gases) with this technique, the safety of positive pressure extubation technique has not been well studied. The aim of this study was to determine the safety of the positive-pressure extubation technique compared with the traditional extubation technique in terms of incidence of complications. Adult subjects who were critically ill and on invasive mechanical ventilation who met extubation criteria were included. The subjects were randomly assigned to positive-pressure extubation ( = 120) or to traditional extubation ( = 120). Sequential tests for noninferiority and, when appropriate, for superiority were performed. Positive pressure was considered noninferior if the upper limit of the CI for the absolute risk difference did not exceed a threshold of 15% in favor of the traditional group, both in per protocol and intention-to-treat analyses. A value of