September 28, 2025

Reducing Unplanned Extubations in a Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Utilizing Quality Improvement Methodology

Key Points

The unplanned extubation rate significantly decreased from 1.33 to below the target of 0.6 events per 100 ventilator days.
Targeted interventions developed by a quality improvement team addressed high morbidity linked to unplanned extubations.
Interdisciplinary collaboration in a level IV neonatal intensive care unit led to successful reduction of adverse events.
The focus on achieving published safety benchmarks indicates a proactive approach to patient care in neonatal settings.

Abstract

Background: Unplanned extubations (UEs) are a common adverse event among neonatal patients and can be associated with significant morbidity. Our level IV neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) UE rate was 1.33 events/100 ventilator days, which exceeded published rates. In response, our interdisciplinary quality improvement (QI) team developed targeted interventions aiming to reduce the institutional UE rate to be in alignment with the published Solutions for Patient Safety centerline (0.6 events/100 ventilator days).

Reducing Unplanned Extubations in a Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Utilizing Quality Improvement Methodology

Key Points

Abstract

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