Incidence of Unplanned Extubation and Related Factors of Reintubation in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

ABSTRACT

Purpose@#This descriptive study aimed to identify the incidence and related factors of reintubation after unplanned extubation in the neonatal intensive care unit. @*Methods@#A secondary data analysis was conducted using electronic medical records. All events of unplanned extubation were audited from January 2020 to August 2021. The data were analyzed by chi-square test using IBM SPSS Statistics ver. 24.0 program. @*Results@#Fifty-eight unplanned extubation events were identified for 20 months. The incidence was 2.6 per 100 ventilation days during the study period. After unplanned extubation, 35 neonates (60.3%) were immediately reintubated. There was a statistically significant difference between the gestational age (p=0.018) and postconceptional age at unplanned extubation (p=0.044) and the total intubation period (p=0.003) between the reintubation and nonreintubation groups. @*Conclusion@#These findings indicate that the incidence of unplanned extubation was significantly higher than that of an adult in South Korea. According to this study, targeting interventions are required to prevent unplanned extubation and ensure patient safety.