title: Tracheal extubation under deep sevoflurane anesthesia: A novel strategy for weaning difficulties in intensive care.
abstract: Various criteria for weaning patients from ventilators in intensive care have been widely published. These criteria are increasingly incorporated into guidelines, protocols, and more recently, care pathways. We present a case where a patient's lungs were ventilated for 4 days with an infective exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We successfully weaned off mechanical ventilation and rapidly extubated the patient's trachea utilizing deep sevoflurane anesthesia. Published weaning indices suggest that this would have been an inappropriate course of action at the time. However, our patient clearly benefited and avoided the need for tracheostomy and prolonged ventilation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woodville South, South Australia 5011, Australia.
authors.forename: Rajesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sethi
authors.forename: Simon V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Mahon
keywords: Artificial ventilation; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; intensive care; sevoflurane; weaning