Incidence of Weaning Failure in Obese Patients in Intensive Care Unit

Background The escalating prevalence of obesity worldwide presents unique challenges in critical care management, especially in the context of mechanical ventilation and weaning processes in intensive care units (ICUs). The present study aimed to determine the incidence of weaning failure in obese patients in an ICU. Methods A prospective observational study was carried out to gather data on patients in the ICU of Shifa International Hospital located in Islamabad, Pakistan. The target population consisted of adult patients who were both male and female, ages 18 years and above. These individuals required intubation procedures as well as mechanical ventilation during their hospitalization. The researchers followed these patients prospectively and observed their medical conditions closely to gather data about how obesity might impact critical care interventions and outcomes. Results The sample size was 288 bearing a median age of 61.0 with an interquartile range of 19 years. Older age manifested a significantly higher frequency of failed extubation (p=0.065). Higher body mass index (BMI) was significantly associated with failed extubation among the study population. It was found that a higher significant difference was associated with BMI > 30 kg/m² (obese) in failed and successful extubation. One-half of the patients with failed extubation and only 16 (5.9%) patients with successful extubation had end-stage renal disease (p<0.001). It was found that patients who underwent failed extubation had notably increased ICU mortality (p=0.108), 28-day mortality (p=0.067), as well as mean ICU (p<0.001) and hospital stay (p=0.007). Conclusion Our study revealed some insightful correlations between obesity, age, comorbidities, length of hospitalization, ICU stay, and mortality rate in terms of weaning failure among the study population.