Abstract

Objective: Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) failure it has been associated to worst clinical outcomes due to a delay in intubation and initiation of invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV). There is a lack of evidence in pediatric patients regarding this topic. The objective was to determine the association between duration of IMV and length of stay, with duration of NIV prior to intubation/IMV in pediatric patients. Design: A prospective cohort study since January 2015 to October 2019. Setting: A pediatric intensive care unit. Patients: Children under 15 years with acute respiratory failure who failed to noninvasive ventilation. Interventions: None. Main variables of interest: Demographic variables, pediatric index of mortality (PIM2), pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome (PARDS) diagnosis, IMV and NIV duration, PICU LOS were registered and intrahospital mortality. Results: A total of 109 patients with a median (IQR) age of 7 (3-14) months were included. The main diagnosis was pneumonia (89.9%). PARDS was diagnosed in 37.6% of the sample. No association was found between NIV duration and duration of IMV after Kaplan-Meier analysis (Log rank P = .479). There was no significant difference between PICU LOS (P = .253) or hospital LOS (P = 0.669), when categorized by NIV duration before intubation. PARDS diagnosis was associated to an increased length of invasive ventilation (HR: 0.64 [95% IC: 0.42-0.99]). Conclusions: No association was found between NIV duration prior to intubation and duration of invasive ventilation in critical pediatric patients with acute respiratory failure. © 2021 Elsevier España, S.L.U. y SEMICYUC