[Prognostic parameters in patients with prolonged weaning from mechanical ventilation: a retrospective analysis]

Weaning from mechanical ventilation of patients treated in an intensive care unit can be difficult and requires transfer to a specialised weaning unit. So far, only limited data are available on parameters associated with survival and successful weaning in this patient group.A retrospective analysis of patients (n=659) treated in the specialised weaning unit at the University Hospital RWTH Aachen during a time period of 8 years was conducted.Multivariate analysis showed an inverse association of patient survival with age (OR 0.958; p<0.001), underlying malignancy (OR 0.422; p=0.008) or chronic renal failure (OR 0.509; p=0.035), cumulative fluid balance (OR 0.948; p<0.001) and lactate levels (OR 0.528; p=0.032). Moreover, age (OR 0.975; p=0.021), chronic renal failure (OR 0.382; p=0.001), cumulative fluid balance (OR 0.953; p<0.001) and lactate levels (OR 0.349; p<0.001) were also associated with weaning failure. In addition, an association of weaning failure was found for underlying neuromuscular disorder (OR 0.212; p=0.01), ventilator days on ICU (OR 0.98; p=0.015) and bicarbonate levels (OR 0.947; p=0.049).Taken together, we were able to identify several parameters associated with survival and successful weaning in a large cohort of patients treated in a specialized weaning unit.