OBJECTIVE: To correlate the oxygenation index (OI) and the ventilation index (VI) with the time of invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) in pediatric patients. METHODS: This prospective and observational study enrolled patients from 28 days to 14 years of age, admitted in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of a university hospital. The values of age, weight, pH, partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2), partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2), OI and VI were measured from day one to the day five and they were correlated with the time on IMV. The total time on mechanical ventilation was divided into: <7 days and >7 days. RESULTS: 28 patients were studied. The time spent on IMV showed a significant negative correlation with the pH on the fourth day and with the PaO2 on the fifth day. The time on IMV showed a positive correlation with the OI on the third and fourth days and with the VI on the third, fourth and fifth days. There were significant differences in the age and pH on the fourth and fifth days and in the VI from the second to fifth days between the group that remained less than seven days and those that remained seven days or more on IMV. CONCLUSIONS: VI, OI, pH and PaO2 measured during the first five days of IMV were associated with prolonged IMV, reflecting the severity of the initial ventilatory disturb.
respiration, artificial; pediatrics; intensive care
