Compare the effect of noninvasive ventilation and tracheotomy in critically ill mechanically ventilated neurosurgical patients: a retrospective observe cohort study

Objective Patients with severe brain injury is usual at high risk of extubation failure, despite of those with no/minor primary respiratory problem, majority of them still needs long term respiratory support and has severe pulmonary complications. This retrospective study aimed to compare the effect of noninvasive ventilation (NIV) and tracheotomy on the prognosis in critically ill mechanically ventilated neurosurgical patients. Methods This is a single center, retrospective observe cohort study. Postoperative patients with brain injury consecutively admitted to ICU from November 1st, 2015 through February 28th, 2017, who had received invasive mechanical ventilation more than 48 h were screened, those who received NIV or tracheotomy procedure, meanwhile with Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score between 8 and 13 points before using NIV or undergoing tracheotomy, were retrospectively included in this study. The demographic data and clinical main outcomes such as ICU and hospital mortality, time of mechanical ventilation, length of ICU and hospital were collected. The primary outcome was the incidence of postoperative pulmonary infection between two groups. Results 77 patients were included in this study. 33 patients received NIV, and 44 patients received tracheotomy through the ICU duration. The incidence of postoperative pulmonary infection in NIV group was significantly lower than that in tracheotomy group (54.5% VS 84.1%, P