• David Ovadya, Keren Bachar, Michael Peled, Maya Skudowitz, and Arie Wollner.
• Department of Respiratory Rehabilitation, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
• Isr Med Assoc J. 2020 Dec 1; 22 (12): 733-735.

BackgroundPatients diagnosed with coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) who deteriorate to respiratory failure and require mechanical ventilation may later need to be weaned from the ventilator and undergo a rehabilitation process. The rate of weaning COVID-19 patients from mechanical ventilation is unknown.ObjectivesTo present our experience with ventilator weaning of COVID-19 patients in a dedicated facility.MethodsA retrospective cohort study was conducted of 18 patients hospitalized in a COVID-19 dedicated ventilator weaning unit.ResultsEighteen patients were hospitalized in the dedicated unit between 6 April and 19 May 2020. Of these, 88% (16/18) were weaned and underwent decannulation, while two patients deteriorated and were re-admitted to the intensive care unit. The average number of days spent in our department was 12. There was no statistically significant correlation between patient characteristics and time to weaning from ventilation or with the time to decannulation.ConclusionsDespite the high mortality of COVID-19 patients who require mechanical ventilation, most of the patients in our cohort were weaned in a relatively short period of time. Further large-scale studies are necessary to assess the cost effectiveness of dedicated COVID-19 departments for ventilator weaning.

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