Respiratory failure & ventilation
Noninvasive ventilation in postoperative critically ill patients with morbid obesity: secondary analysis of the EXTUBOBESE multicentre randomised clinical trial
Primary resultResult — go to the resultAbsolute risk difference −10.5 95% CI −16.8 to −4.3Authors' conclusion
Among postoperative critically ill adults with obesity undergoing tracheal extubation, our results suggest that use of noninvasive ventilation is effective to reduce treatment failure in comparison with oxygen therapy alone. These effects were more pronounced in patients with morbid obesity.
Study context
- Population
- Postoperative critically ill patients with obesity (BMI ≥30 kg m-2) and morbid obesity (BMI ≥40 kg m-2) undergoing tracheal extubation
- Participants
- 585 patients
- Comparison
- Prophylactic noninvasive ventilation (NIV) vs oxygen therapy after extubation
- NIVn = 292
- Oxygen therapyn = 293reference
- Primary endpoint
- Treatment failure: composite of reintubation, switch to the other study treatment, or premature study treatment discontinuation
- Follow-up
- Within 3 days after extubation
Methodological detailsmulticentre
- Multicentre
Primary result
As reported in the abstract
Absolute risk difference
−10.5
95% CI −16.8 to −4.3
Events by treatment group
NIV vs Oxygen therapy
absolute risk difference −10.5 (95% CI −16.8 to −4.3)
Secondary outcomes
Reintubation · within 3 days
P = 0.58
| Outcome | P value |
|---|---|
| Time without reintubation by level of obesity (subgroup)BMI ≥40 kg m-2 | P = 0.02 |
| Time without reintubation by level of obesity (subgroup)30≤BMI<40 kg m-2 | P = 0.70 |
- Time without reintubation by level of obesity (subgroup): interaction P=0.045 for level of obesity
Treatment failure, HFNO and standard oxygen analysed separately
- Similar results when analysing HFNO separately from standard oxygen
Original publication
Noninvasive ventilation in postoperative critically ill patients with morbid obesity: secondary analysis of the EXTUBOBESE multicentre randomised clinical trial. Br J Anaesth. Published 3 October 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →