Unsuccessful weaning from mechanical ventilation in children and ways to avoid it

Abstract

The aim of the work: to determine causes of unsuccessful weaning depending on subglottic edema markers, level of sedation and sedation-agitation, changes in neurological status and bulbar disorders in children with different types of respiratory failure. Materials and Methods. We conducted a prospective cohort single-center study at the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care at Lviv Regional Children's Clinical Hospital "OHMATDYT". We included 89 patients aged 1 month – 18 years with acute respiratory failure who was mechanically ventilated for more than 3 days. They were randomly divided into 2 groups. Group I included patients who received lung-protective ventilation strategy and assessment central nervous system function and the percentage of leakage of the gas mixture near the endotracheal tube; group II – patients who received diaphragm-protective in addition to lung-protective ventilation strategy and took into account the results of central nervous system assessment and respiratory gas mixture leakage near endotracheal tube during weaning from mechanical ventilation. The primary endpoint was the frequency of reintubations, the secon­dary endpoint was the frequency of complications (tracheostomy). 82 patients were included in the data analysis. Patients were divided into age subgroups: subgroup 1 – children 1 month – 1 year; subgroup – children 1–3 years; subgroup 3 – children 3–6 years; subgroup 4 – children 6–13 years; subgroup 5 – children 13–18 years. Results and Discussion. The frequency of reintubations in patients of the age subgroup 1 was reduced in group II to 5.3 % compared with 22.7 % in group I (p = 0.02), which was accompanied by a higher frequency of elective tracheostomy (before the first attempt of weaning from mechanical ventilation) which was 11 % in comparison with 0 %, p = 0.001). The frequency of reintubations in the age subgroup 2 was reduced to 5.9 % in group II vs 20 % in group I (p = 0.04), and elective tracheostomy was performed in 18 % patients in group II vs 5 % patients in group I (p = 0.05). There were no significant differences in the frequency of reintubations among patients in the age subgroup 3 (14.2 % in group I vs 11.1 % in group II, p = 0.31); in the age subgroup 4 (13 % vs 17 %, p = 0.19); the age subgroup 5 (6 % vs 7 %, p = 0.72).