Association of Overnight Extubation With Outcomes After Cardiac Surgery in the Intensive Care Unit

Gershengorn and colleagues evaluated the incidence and safety of overnight extubation following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), using retrospective data from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Adult Cardiac Surgery Database. Between 2014 and 2017, 42% of patients undergoing elective CABG had an overnight extubation, a rate that the authors report is similar to patients undergoing other cardiac procedures. For patients who had mechanical ventilation duration of six to eight hours, overnight extubation was associated with increased reintubation and longer intensive care unit stays, but less reintubation and reduced length of stay were observed for patients extubated overnight who had mechanical ventilation durations between nine and 20 hours. No difference in mortality was noted with overnight extubation, and the authors conclude that the practice is prevalent after cardiac surgery and that it is associated with little risk.