Weaning from mechanical ventilation: a cross-sectional study of reference values and the discriminative validity of aging

[Purpose] To evaluate pre-extubation variables and check the discriminative validity of age as well as its correlation with weaning failure in elderly patients. [Subjects and Methods] Two hundred thirty-nine consecutive patients (48% female) who were on mechanical ventilation and had undergone orotracheal intubation were divided into four subgroups according to their age: <59 years, 60–69 years, 70–79 years, and >80 years old. The expiratory volume (V(E)), respiratory frequency (f), tidal volume (V(T)), and respiratory frequency/tidal volume ratio (f/V(T)) were used to examine differences in weaning parameters between the four subgroups, and age was correlated with weaning failure. [Results] The rate of weaning failure was 27.8% in patients aged >80 years and 22.1% in patients aged <60 years old. Elderly patients presented higher f/V(T) and f values and lower V(T) values. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves for f/V(T) ratio were smaller than those published previously. [Conclusion] Our results indicate that aging influences weaning criteria without causing an increase in weaning failure.