Internal medicine

Retrospective cohort study

Cardiogenic shock

SAPS II

EuroSCORE

Myocardial infarction

Interquartile range

Engineering

Odds ratio

Cardiology

Surgery

Intensive care medicine

Ventilation (architecture)

Mechanical ventilation

Intensive care unit

Cardiac surgery

APACHE II

Intensive care

Medicine

Mechanical engineering

Respiratory Care

<h3>BACKGROUND:</h3> Mortality among the small percentage of cardiac surgery patients receiving prolonged mechanical ventilation is high, but this issue appears to be inadequately addressed in guidelines. <h3>METHODS:</h3> This study is a retrospective analysis of prospective, multi-center, and observational study in Spain including all adults undergoing cardiac surgery in 3 Andalusian hospitals between June 2008 and December 2012. <h3>RESULTS:</h3> The study included 3,588 adults with mean ± SD age of 63.5 ± 12.8 y and with median (interquartile range) EuroSCORE of 5 (3–7) points. Prolonged mechanical ventilation (&gt; 24 h) was required by 415 subjects (11.6%), with ICU mortality of 44.3% (184 subjects), and was not required by 3,173 subjects (88.4%), with ICU mortality of 3.1% (99 subjects, <i>P</i> &lt; .001). Prolonged mechanical ventilation was associated with more complications and was required by 4.5% of subjects with a EuroSCORE &lt;5, 11.2% with a score of 5–7, 27.2% with a score of 8–10, and 32.2% with a score &gt; 10. In the multivariable analysis, ICU mortality was associated with illness severity, duration of bypass surgery, surgery type, and prolonged mechanical ventilation (odds ratio 15.19, 95% CI 11.56–22.09). The main cause of death was multiple organ failure and sepsis in subjects who required prolonged mechanical ventilation (50.3%) and cardiogenic shock in those who did not (59.2%). <h3>CONCLUSION:</h3> Prolonged postoperative mechanical ventilation was required by 10–20% of cardiac surgery subjects, who constitute a specific group that represents most of the postoperative mortality, which is associated with multiple organ failure and sepsis.

Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation as a Predictor of Mortality After Cardiac Surgery