Clinical outcomes and prognostic factors for prolonged mechanical ventilation in patients with acute stroke and brain trauma

Background/Purpose Neurological dysfunction is a common condition necessitating prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV). We investigated the clinical features and outcomes of patients with acute neurological diseases requiring PMV. Methods This retrospective observational study was conducted at the Respiratory Care Center (RCC) of Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan, between January 2011 and January 2014. The main outcome was weaning success, defined as successful withdrawal from mechanical ventilator support for more than 5 days. Results The study included 103 patients with acute stroke and brain trauma receiving PMV. Weaning success was reported in 63 (61%) patients and weaning failure was reported in 40 (39%) patients. Patients in the weaning failure group were older and had a lower RCC Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score (6.0 vs 7.9, p = 0.005), lower albumin level (2.8 vs 3.1, p = 0.015), longer RCC stay (28.7 vs 21.3 days, p = 0.017), and higher in-hospital mortality rate (47% vs 9%, p  Conclusion Reduced RCC GCS score is an independent prognostic factor for weaning failure, and is associated with increased in-hospital mortality rates in patients with acute stroke and brain trauma requiring PMV.