Journal of Trauma and Injury · Published 2025-12-29 · DOI 10.20408/jti.2025.0050
Purpose Careful clinical assessment is essential for extubation in patients with acute respiratory failure, and decisions must weigh the potential benefits and risks related to the timing of extubation. This study aimed to characterize the population at high risk for extubation failure and to assess the interventions employed to prevent reintubation in head injury patients admitted to the trauma intensive care unit. Methods We retrospectively obtained data from the trauma registry database of traumatic brain injury patients who were intubated and admitted to a trauma intensive care unit in Qatar from January 2013 to December 2015. Regression analysis was performed to examine the association between successful extubation and in-hospital complications. Results In total, 297 head injury patients (279 male and 26 female patients) at high risk of reintubation were included in the analysis. The prevalence of agitation and pneumonia in postextubated head injury patients were 10.8% and 4.7%, respectively. After adjusting for confounding variables, successful extubation with the use of a nasal cannula and continuous positive airway pressure was significantly associated with reduced agitation (P=0.001) and a lower incidence of in-hospital complications, including pneumonia (P=0.001) and sepsis (P=0.02). Conclusions This study suggests an association between successful extubation, reduced agitation, and a decreased incidence of in-hospital complications such as pneumonia and sepsis. Particular attention and further research should focus on optimizing extubation management for head injury patients.
Abstract from DOAJ. Public domain (CC0 1.0).
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