Continuous quality improvement: reducing unplanned extubations in a pediatric intensive care unit.

Objective: Unplanned extubation (UEX) is a potentially serious complication of mechanical ventilation. Limited information is available regarding factors that contribute to UEXs and subsequent reintubation of children. We monitored UEXs in our pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) for a 5-year period to assess the incidence and patient conditions associated with UEX and to evaluate whether targeted interventions were associated with a reduced rate of UEXs.

Pediatric extracorporeal life support after high frequency ventilation: predictors of survival.

Previous studies of extracorporeal life support in pediatric patients have identified variables associated with survival. However, none of these studies focused on extracorporeal life support after failure of high frequency ventilation (HFV). In the present study, we determined variables associated with survival for pediatric respiratory failure patients who received HFV prior to extracorporeal life support, using data reported to the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization Registry from 1992 to 1998.