The Impact of Delayed Transition From Noninvasive to Invasive Mechanical Ventilation on Hospital Mortality in Immunocompromised Patients With Sepsis

To determine whether mortality differed between initial invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) or noninvasive ventilation (NIV) followed by delayed IMV in immunocompromised patients with sepsis. Retrospective analysis using the National Data Center for Medical Service claims data in China from 2017 to 2019. A total of 3530 hospitals across China. A total of 36,187 adult immunocompromised patients with sepsis requiring ventilation. None. The primary outcome was hospital mortality. Patients were categorized into NIV initiation or IMV initiation groups based on first ventilation. NIV patients were further divided by time to IMV transition: no transition, immediate (≤ 1 d), early (2-3 d), delayed (4-7 d), or late (≥ 8 d). Mortality was compared between groups using weighted Cox models. Over the median 9-day follow-up, mortality was similar for initial NIV versus IMV (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.006; 95% CI, 0.959-1.055). However, among NIV patients, a longer time to IMV transition is associated with stepwise increases in mortality, from immediate transition (HR 1.65) to late transition (HR 2.51), compared with initial IMV. This dose-response relationship persisted across subgroups and sensitivity analyses. Prolonged NIV trial before delayed IMV transition is associated with higher mortality in immunocompromised sepsis patients ultimately intubated.