Journal of cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesia
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J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. · Jun 2009
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyA randomized trial of outcomes of anesthetic management directed to very early extubation after cardiac surgery in children.
Intraoperative management directed to early extubation of children undergoing cardiac surgery has been suggested as a viable alternative to prolonged postoperative mechanical ventilation. The authors evaluated the safety and efficacy of this approach in a randomized prospective trial. ⋯ In children undergoing cardiac surgery, anesthetic management with early cessation of mechanical ventilation appears to be safe and decreases hospital and PICU length of stay. However, because the size of the study did not allow for the detection of possible differences in perioperative mortality, only a large multicenter study may provide a definite answer to this question. The present study may be treated as a pilot for such a trial.