[Comparison of the effect of different extubation techniques on extubation in patients with mechanical ventilation in intensive care unit].

Objective: To compare the application effects of three different extubation techniques in patients with mechanical ventilation in intensive care unit (ICU).

Methods: A prospective randomized controlled study was conducted. Mechanical ventilation patients admitted to the critical care department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University from July to November 2023 were enrolled. According to the random number table generated by Excel, the patients were divided into negative pressure group, positive pressure group 1 and positive pressure group 2, with 45 cases in each group. On the basis of routine nursing, the negative pressure group used the negative pressure extubation technique to remove the tracheal catheter. In the positive pressure group, the pressure support (PS) and positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) of the positive pressure group 1 were 7 cmH₂O (1 cmH₂O≈0.098 kPa) and 5 cmH₂O, and the PS and PEEP of the positive pressure group 2 were 15 cmH₂O and 10 cmH₂O. The main outcome measures were extubation related complications, including tachypnea, severe cough, sore throat, upper airway obstruction spasm, extubation failure, hypoxemia, and hypercapnia. The secondary outcome measures were the variation of heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure and blood oxygen saturation before and 1, 15 and 30 minutes after extubation.

Results: Finally, 42 patients were included in each group. There were no significant differences in gender, age, catheter retention days, duration of mechanical ventilation, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II), catheter model and diagnosis among the three groups, which were comparable. There were statistically significant differences in the incidence of tachypnea, severe cough, sore throat, upper airway obstruction spasm, hypoxemia and hypercapnia among the three groups, while there was no statistically significant difference in the failure rate of extubation. The incidence of tachypnea, severe cough, sore throat, upper airway obstruction spasm, hypoxemia and hypercapnia after extubation in positive pressure group 1 and positive pressure group 2 were lower than those in negative pressure group (7.14%, 9.52% vs. 33.33%; 7.14%, 4.76% vs. 28.57%; 61.90%, 52.38% vs. 88.10%; 11.90%, 19.05% vs. 45.24%; 7.14%, 7.14% vs. 30.95%; 4.76%, 2.38% vs. 28.57%; all P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in extubation related complications between group 1 and group 2. There were significant differences in the time effect of heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure and blood oxygen saturation 30 minutes after extubation among three groups (F values were 145.792, 49.749, 22.486, 23.622 and 242.664, respectively, all P < 0.01). The intergroup effect of blood oxygen saturation was statistically significant (F = 3.835, P = 0.024), and the blood oxygen saturation in positive pressure group 1 and positive pressure group 2 were higher than those in negative pressure group 1 minute and 30 minutes after extubation (1 minute after extubation: 0.97±0.02, 0.97±0.02 vs. 0.95±0.02; 30 minutes after extubation: 1.00±0.01, 1.00±0.01 vs. 0.99±0.02, all P < 0.05). The interaction effects of heart rate and blood oxygen saturation were statistically significant (F values were 3.512 and 7.226, respectively, both P < 0.01).

Conclusions: Compared with negative pressure extubation, positive pressure extubation can effectively reduce extubation related complications in ICU mechanically ventilated patients. It is beneficial to maintain stable blood oxygen saturation within 30 minutes after extubation, and has better clinical application effects. It is recommended to use low pressure extubation.