Endotracheal Tube Duration in Elderly Patients after the Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Surgery

In elderly patients, the management of the endotracheal tube after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) can be challenging because they often have complex comorbidities. This study was done to determine endotracheal tube duration in elderly patients after CABG.

This retrospective study was conducted on 397 patients aged over 65 years under mechanical ventilation after CABG. Patients in two groups of endotracheal tube duration of less than 8 h and more than 8 h were compared. Medical records were used for data gathering. Descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis test, and logistic regression model were used for data analysis.

Endotracheal tube duration was 9.9± 5.89 h in elderly patients. According to the results of the Mann-Whitney U test, there was a significant difference between the two groups in terms of the history of smoking (p = 0.023), history of diabetes (p= 0.062), left ventricular ejection fraction (p= 0.028), and type of operation in terms of emergency and non-emergency (p= 0.069). The logistic regression model showed predictive variables of the endotracheal tube duration after CABG in elderly patients over 65 years, including the history of smoking (1.179- 4.543, CI: 95%, β=0.839, and, p=0.015), history of myocardial infarction (0.188- 1.019, CI: 95%, p= 0.055, β= -0.827), and the left ventricular ejection fraction less than 50% (0.202-0752, CI: 95%, p= 0.005, β= -0.943).

Considering the predictive factors, the duration of the postoperative endotracheal tube can play an important role in the careful care of elderly patients after CABG.