• Christopher J L Newth, Shekhar Venkataraman, Douglas F Willson, Kathleen L Meert, Rick Harrison, J Michael Dean, Murray Pollack, Jerry Zimmerman, Kanwaljeet J S Anand, Joseph A Carcillo, Carol E Nicholson, and Eunice Shriver Kennedy National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Collaborative Pediatric Critical Care Research Network.
• Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CJLN), Los Angeles, CA, USA. cnewth@chla.usc.edu
• Pediatr Crit Care Me. 2009 Jan 1; 10 (1): 1-11.

ObjectiveA systematic review of weaning and extubation for pediatric patients on mechanical ventilation.Data SelectionPediatric and adult literature, English language.Study SelectionInvited review.Data SourcesLiterature review using National Library of Medicine PubMed from January 1972 until April 2008, earlier cross-referenced article citations, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and the Internet.ConclusionsDespite the importance of minimizing time on mechanical ventilation, only limited guidance on weaning and extubation is available from the pediatric literature. A significant proportion of patients being evaluated for weaning are actually ready for extubation, suggesting that weaning is often not considered early enough in the course of ventilation. Indications for extubation are even less clear, although a trial of spontaneous breathing would seem a prerequisite. Several indices have been developed in an attempt to predict weaning and extubation success but the available literature would suggest they offer no improvement over clinical judgment. Extubation failure rates range from 2% to 20% and bear little relationship to the duration of mechanical ventilation. Upper airway obstruction is the single most common cause of extubation failure. A reliable method of assessing readiness for weaning and predicting extubation success is not evident from the pediatric literature.

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