Early extubation attempts reduce length of stay in extremely preterm infants even if re-intubation is necessary.

Abstract

Prolonged mechanical ventilation in the extremely premature infant is associated with the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Clinically, the decision to extubate the extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infant can be difficult. There is continued debate regarding whether it is better for an ELBW infant to remain on the ventilator or to extubate to nasal constant positive airway pressure (nCPAP). It has also been argued that repeated intubations may be detrimental to ELBW infants. We tested the hypothesis that earlier extubation attempts would decrease length of hospital stay and BPD.