Comparison of terminal extubation and terminal weaning as mechanical ventilation withdrawal in ICU patients.

Abstract Terminal extubation (TE) is applied in some intensive care unit (ICU) patients when a decision of withdrawal of mechanical ventilation is decided. Other units prefer terminal weaning (TW) with no removal of the endotracheal tube. We report our experience with these two procedures. We conducted a retrospective study analyzing patients deceased in our ICU after a decision of life sustained therapy (LST) during the year 2013. TE was proposed to family members for patients presenting with two medical conditions: lack of vasoactive drugs (VAD) and SaO2 > 95% with a FIO2