Pediatric anesthesia & critical care
Early Versus Late Extubation After Pediatric Cardiac Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Pooled result · In-hospital mortalityResult — go to the resultOdds ratio 0.19 95% CI 0.14–0.25Authors' conclusion
In this predominantly observational evidence base, early extubation should be interpreted primarily as a marker of patient stability and institutional practice rather than a proven intervention that reduces mortality.
Study context
- Population
- Children undergoing cardiac surgery
- Participants
- 37,995 children · 28 studies
- Comparison
- Early vs delayed extubation after pediatric cardiac surgery
- Outcome
- In-hospital mortality
Methodological detailsrandom-effects, prespecified subgroup and sensitivity analyses, Databases searched from inception through April 2024, Low to very low certainty of evidence; predominantly observational
- Random-effects
- Prespecified subgroup and sensitivity analyses
- Databases searched from inception through April 2024
- Low to very low certainty of evidence; predominantly observational
Pooled result
As reported in the abstract
Odds ratio
0.19
95% CI 0.14–0.25
Early extubation vs Delayed extubation
OR 0.19 (95% CI 0.14–0.25)
Further pooled results
Reintubation; ICU and hospital LOS
- Early extubation associated with lower reintubation rates and shorter ICU and hospital LOS
Age subgroups (subgroup)
- Associations more consistent among older children than among neonates
Original publication
Early Versus Late Extubation After Pediatric Cardiac Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. J Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth. Published 19 February 2026. doi:10.
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