title: Tracheal extubation.
abstract: Tracheal extubation in both the critical care and anesthesia setting is not only an important milestone for patient recovery, but also a procedure that carries a considerable risk of complication or failure. Mechanical ventilation is associated with significant complications that are time-dependent in nature, with a longer duration of intubation resulting in a higher incidence of complications, including ventilator-associated pneumonia, and increased mortality. Extubation failure and subsequent re-intubation are associated with an overall increase in the duration of mechanical ventilation, increased mortality, a greater need for tracheostomy, and higher medical costs. These risks demand that the process of extubation be managed by practitioners with a detailed understanding of the causes of extubation failure and the potential complications. A pre-established extubation plan with considerations made for the possible need for re-intubation is of the utmost importance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Houston, Texas. carlos.artime@uth.tmc.edu.
authors.forename: Carlos A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Artime
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Houston, Texas.
authors.forename: Carin A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Hagberg
mesh_terms: D060666:Airway Extubation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D003657:Decision Making; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal; D012121:Respiration, Artificial; D012307:Risk Factors; D017211:Treatment Failure; D015300:Ventilator Weaning / Q000379:methods
keywords: airway exchange catheters; airway management; difficult airway; extubation; laryngeal mask airway; noninvasive ventilation; ventilator weaning