Pre-transplant mechanical ventilation and outcome in patients with cystic fibrosis.

Mechanical ventilation for ventilatory failure has been considered a relative contraindication to subsequent lung transplantation. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) who are intubated and mechanically ventilated before transplantation have poorer post-transplant outcomes than do patients who are not ventilated. We compared the outcomes of 8 patients with CF who underwent mechanical ventilation for 62 +/-20 days (range, 3-153 days) before bilateral lung transplantation with outcomes of 24 patients with CF who did not undergo pre-transplant mechanical ventilation.