Palliative extubation: five‐year experience in a pediatric hospital

Objective

To present the characteristics of pediatric patients with chronic and irreversible diseases submitted to palliative extubation.

Method

This is a descriptive analysis of a series of patients admitted to a pediatric public hospital, with chronic and irreversible diseases, permanently dependent on ventilatory support, who were submitted to palliative extubation between April 2014 and May 2019. The following information was collected from the medical records: demographic data, diagnosis, duration and type of mechanical ventilation; date, time, and place of palliative extubation; medications used; symptoms observed; and hospital outcome.

Results

A total of 19 patients with a mean age of 2.2 years were submitted to palliative extubation. 68.4% of extubations were performed in the ICU; 11 patients (57.9%) died in the hospital. The time between mechanical ventilation withdrawal and in‐hospital death ranged from 15 minutes to five days. Thirteen patients used an orotracheal tube and the others used tracheostomy. The main symptoms were dyspnea and pain, and the main drugs used to control symptoms were opioids and benzodiazepines.

Conclusions

It was not possible to identify predictors of in‐hospital death after ventilatory support withdrawal. Palliative extubation requires specialized care, with the presence and availability of a multidisciplinary team with adequate training in symptom control and palliative care.