Clinical impact of extubation in the operating room after cardiac surgery: a retrospective analysis of a prospective registry

The practice of immediate extubation in the Operating Room (OR) after cardiac surgery involving cardiopulmonary bypass remains debated. Concerns persist regarding its safety profile compared to conventional fast-track weaning in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). This retrospective analysis of a prospective single-center registry included 846 adult patients undergoing isolated Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) or Heart Valve Surgery (HVS). To rigorously account for indication bias, we employed a doubly robust estimation approach, combining Stabilized Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting (SIPTW) with multivariable regression adjustment for residual confounding. Of the 846 patients, 115 (13.6%) were extubated in the OR and 731 (86.4%) in the ICU. The weighted analysis successfully balanced baseline characteristics. Extubation in the OR was associated with a significant reduction in 30-day mortality (adjusted Hazard Ratio aHR = 0.16; 95% CI 0.03–0.92; p = 0.040) and acute kidney injury (adjusted Odds Ratio aOR = 0.55; 95% CI 0.31–0.99; p = 0.046). Additionally, it reduced the likelihood of prolonged ICU stay (> 14-days) (aOR = 0.10; p = 0.032). Contrary to unadjusted analyses, there was no significant association with respiratory tract infection (p = 0.163), reintubation (p = 0.103), or other adverse events. In this single-center, robustly adjusted analysis, extubation in the OR was associated with favorable outcomes, including lower 30-day mortality and reduced resource utilization in highly selected patients. Previous concerns regarding increased reintubation rates were not substantiated.