[cssnurse07]

Hi. I am working on a research project to improve our extubation time following heart surgery. RNs extubate patients in our 20 Cardiac icu beds. I need to know the hospitals extubation time(average) and who extubate the patient. Also please tell me if you come from a teaching or community hospital. You input is much apreciated.

[maxiner]

I work in Asheville, NC and we try to extubate our OH patients within 4 hours. We have a rapid wean protocol and if they meet the criteria they are extubated. About 75 to 80% meet this criteria. They do pretty well. Our respiratory therapist does the extubation with the nurses assistance. We start IS within 2 hours and if unable to do half of preop value EZ PAP is started and aggressive cough and deep breathing is initiated.

Hope this helps.

[ICUruthie]

I work at a teaching hospital in Sweden on a cardiac unit. On our unit the nurses extubate. We follow a weaning protocol and extubate when parameters are met. The average time of extubation is currently between 1-3 hours after arrival from the OR. The reason for our quick extubation is because we have a new fasttrack program where the stable patient can within five hours go to a step-down unit.

[NEHuskerRN]

Wow, 1-3 hrs is impressive. I currently am on assignment in a small ICU that does CABGs, and about 50% of the time have pt extubated within 6 hrs, but the other 50% is a 10-12hr extubation time. Most of these pts would not typically have a CABG in other facilities...I have taken care of one post-op pt at the ripe age of 88y/o. (I've noticed that the mean average of the typical pt at this facility is 80y/o for CABG, which seems a little on the old side to me, but we do have a large group of Cowboy CV surgeons).

My previous hospital had a 4-6hr post-op extubation time, which was 80% successful. I would like to say that my very first CABG (without preception, I would like to add) was 45 minutes post-op, but they reversed him on the elevator up from OR, and was bipolar/schizo that had a Cabg X1 b/c they didn't feel he would take Plavix if they had stented his LAD.

As for extubating responsibility...both old and current positions, Resp Therapy is the actual extubator!!

Hope this helps