Extubation Failure and Timing to Tracheostomy in Children Surviving Acute Neurological Injury

<b>Background/Objectives</b>: Critically ill patients with acute neurological injury commonly require intubation. The true incidence of and risk for extubation failure in pediatric patients with an acute neurologic injury is not well reported, making the assessment of these patients for...

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Main Authors: Ethan L. Gillett, Sneha Jayadeep, Chary Akmyradov, Salim Aljabari
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Children
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/12/5/586
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author Ethan L. Gillett
Sneha Jayadeep
Chary Akmyradov
Salim Aljabari
author_facet Ethan L. Gillett
Sneha Jayadeep
Chary Akmyradov
Salim Aljabari
author_sort Ethan L. Gillett
collection DOAJ
description <b>Background/Objectives</b>: Critically ill patients with acute neurological injury commonly require intubation. The true incidence of and risk for extubation failure in pediatric patients with an acute neurologic injury is not well reported, making the assessment of these patients for extubation readiness or the need for tracheostomy challenging. This study aims to better delineate the incidence of extubation failure and factors associated with the need for tracheostomy in pediatric patients surviving an acute neurologic injury. <b>Methods</b>: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the Virtual Pediatric System (VPS) database of neonates, infants, children, and adolescents < 18 years of age with a neurological injury requiring intubation from 2012 to 2022. Demographic and clinical variables were compared between subjects that were successfully extubated, those with early tracheostomy placement (≤14 days), and those with late tracheostomy placement (>14 days). <b>Results</b>: Of the 38,810 enrolled subjects, 37,661 (97.04%) were successfully extubated, 481 (1.24%) underwent early tracheostomy, and 668 (1.72%) underwent late tracheostomy. The most common etiologies were seizures (60.6%), trauma (20.9%), and intoxication (9.1%). The successfully extubated subjects had a higher median initial GCS score (8 vs. 5 and 4, <i>p</i> < 0.001) and fewer extubation attempts (1 vs. 3 and 3, <i>p</i> < 0.001) than the tracheostomy cohorts. There was a significant difference in median ICU days between the three groups (2.52 vs. 18.3 vs. 38.3, <i>p</i> < 0.001). <b>Conclusions</b>: The majority of pediatric patients requiring intubation following an acute neurological injury can be successfully extubated. Among patients requiring a tracheostomy, those who received it early had significantly shorter ICU and hospital stays.
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spelling doaj-art-b87f55c6713841dbb16b92f62fa1fb402025-08-20T01:56:25ZengMDPI AGChildren2227-90672025-04-0112558610.3390/children12050586Extubation Failure and Timing to Tracheostomy in Children Surviving Acute Neurological InjuryEthan L. Gillett0Sneha Jayadeep1Chary Akmyradov2Salim Aljabari3Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Science, Little Rock, AR 72205, USADepartment of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Science, Little Rock, AR 72205, USAArkansas Children’s Hospital, Little Rock, AR 72205, USADepartment of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Science, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA<b>Background/Objectives</b>: Critically ill patients with acute neurological injury commonly require intubation. The true incidence of and risk for extubation failure in pediatric patients with an acute neurologic injury is not well reported, making the assessment of these patients for extubation readiness or the need for tracheostomy challenging. This study aims to better delineate the incidence of extubation failure and factors associated with the need for tracheostomy in pediatric patients surviving an acute neurologic injury. <b>Methods</b>: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the Virtual Pediatric System (VPS) database of neonates, infants, children, and adolescents < 18 years of age with a neurological injury requiring intubation from 2012 to 2022. Demographic and clinical variables were compared between subjects that were successfully extubated, those with early tracheostomy placement (≤14 days), and those with late tracheostomy placement (>14 days). <b>Results</b>: Of the 38,810 enrolled subjects, 37,661 (97.04%) were successfully extubated, 481 (1.24%) underwent early tracheostomy, and 668 (1.72%) underwent late tracheostomy. The most common etiologies were seizures (60.6%), trauma (20.9%), and intoxication (9.1%). The successfully extubated subjects had a higher median initial GCS score (8 vs. 5 and 4, <i>p</i> < 0.001) and fewer extubation attempts (1 vs. 3 and 3, <i>p</i> < 0.001) than the tracheostomy cohorts. There was a significant difference in median ICU days between the three groups (2.52 vs. 18.3 vs. 38.3, <i>p</i> < 0.001). <b>Conclusions</b>: The majority of pediatric patients requiring intubation following an acute neurological injury can be successfully extubated. Among patients requiring a tracheostomy, those who received it early had significantly shorter ICU and hospital stays.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/12/5/586extubationneurologic injuryneurocritical caretracheostomypediatrics
spellingShingle Ethan L. Gillett
Sneha Jayadeep
Chary Akmyradov
Salim Aljabari
Extubation Failure and Timing to Tracheostomy in Children Surviving Acute Neurological Injury
Children
extubation
neurologic injury
neurocritical care
tracheostomy
pediatrics
title Extubation Failure and Timing to Tracheostomy in Children Surviving Acute Neurological Injury
title_full Extubation Failure and Timing to Tracheostomy in Children Surviving Acute Neurological Injury
title_fullStr Extubation Failure and Timing to Tracheostomy in Children Surviving Acute Neurological Injury
title_full_unstemmed Extubation Failure and Timing to Tracheostomy in Children Surviving Acute Neurological Injury
title_short Extubation Failure and Timing to Tracheostomy in Children Surviving Acute Neurological Injury
title_sort extubation failure and timing to tracheostomy in children surviving acute neurological injury
topic extubation
neurologic injury
neurocritical care
tracheostomy
pediatrics
url https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/12/5/586
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AT snehajayadeep extubationfailureandtimingtotracheostomyinchildrensurvivingacuteneurologicalinjury
AT charyakmyradov extubationfailureandtimingtotracheostomyinchildrensurvivingacuteneurologicalinjury
AT salimaljabari extubationfailureandtimingtotracheostomyinchildrensurvivingacuteneurologicalinjury