Are Blood Gases Necessary in Mechanically Ventilated Patients Who Have Successfully Completed a Spontaneous Breathing Trial?

BACKGROUND: The utility of routinely obtaining arterial blood gas analyses (ABGs) prior to extubation in patients who have successfully completed a spontaneous breathing trial is not known.

OBJECTIVE: Review our practices and determine our extubation success rate with a policy of selective ABG utilization.

METHODS: Retrospective chart review.

RESULTS: We reviewed 54 extubations of 52 patients. Sixty-five percent of the extubations were performed without obtaining an ABG after the spontaneous breathing trial. The extubation success rate was 94% for the entire group and was the same regardless of whether an ABG measurement was obtained (94.7% vs 94.3%, respectively).

CONCLUSION: ABG measurement does not appear to be a prerequisite to extubation following a clinically successful spontaneous breathing trial.