Predictors of prolonged mechanical ventilation in a cohort of 5123 cardiac surgical patients.

Background: Prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV) after heart surgery is associated with increased patient morbidity and mortality.

Methods: In this prospective observational cohort study the aim was to assess PMV predictors and its impact on ICU, hospital length of stay and survival in cardiac surgical patients admitted to our eight-bed ICU from January 2000 to December 2006. All perioperative patient variables were put into an electronic database.