Extubation Failure in Neonates After Cardiac Surgery: Prevalence, Etiology, and Risk Factors

Background: The purpose of this study was to explore the prevalence, etiology, and risk factors of extubation failure (EF) in post-cardiac surgery neonates.

Methods: Neonates (30 days old or younger) who underwent cardiac surgery and were admitted to the cardiac intensive care unit between September 2010 and February 2016 were included. The prevalence and etiology of EF, defined as reintubation within 48 hours, were reviewed. Demographic, operative, and perioperative data were retrospectively collected. Multiple logistic regression models were constructed to identify the risk factors for EF.

Results: The median age at surgery was 10 days. Extubation failure occurred in 25 of 156 cases (16.0%; 95% confidence interval: 10.6% to 22.7%), because of respiratory dysfunction (n = 16), hemodynamic instability (n = 4), upper airway obstruction (n = 4), or gastrointestinal bleeding (n = 1). Subsequent extubations were successful in 17 cases (68%) because of medical optimization of the causes of reintubation. The remaining 8 cases needed surgical reintervention, including tracheostomy and cardiac surgery. The inhospital mortality rate was 2.6%. In a bivariate analysis, younger age, airway diseases, ventilation before surgery, prolonged mechanical ventilation, and delayed sternal closure were associated with EF. The multivariable analysis identified airway diseases (adjusted odds ratio 18.2, 95% confidence interval: 3.8 to 88.6, p = 0.0003) and mechanical ventilation longer than 7 days (adjusted odds ratio 8.2, 95% confidence interval: 1.9 to 34.9, p = 0.0046) as risk factors for EF.

Conclusions: The prevalence of EF is relatively high in neonatal cardiac surgery. The etiologies can be diverse. Extubation of neonates at high risk after cardiac surgery, based on these possible risk factors, requires more diligent approaches.