Figure 4

Duration of mechanical ventilation: DIS versus control. Shown is a Kaplan-Meier analysis of the duration of mechanical ventilation, according to study group: an intervention group, in which sedative infusions were interrupted on a daily basis (DIS) until the patients were awake; and a control group, in which the infusions were interrupted only at the discretion of the clinicians in the intensive care unit. After adjustment for baseline variables (age, sex, weight, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, and type of respiratory failure), mechanical ventilation was discontinued earlier in the intervention group than in the control group (relative risk for extubation = 1.9, 95% confidence interval = 1.3 to 2.7; P < 0.001). Reprinted with permission from Kress JP, Pohlman AS, O'Connor MF, Hall JB: Daily interruption of sedative infusions in critically ill patients undergoing mechanical ventilation. N Engl J Med 2000, 342(20):1471–1477. Copyright ^© 2000 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved.