Airway obstruction, postoperative

Branca et al. found that risk factors indicating preoperative medical instabdity, particularly cardiac or pulmonary insufficiency, predicted the highest risk of PMV (>4 days) after cardiac surgery (44). In a study of 139 cardiac surgery patients, chronic obstructive airways disease was identified as a risk factor for patients requiting seven or more days of MV postoperatively (45). In thoracic trauma patients, the presence of bilateral chest injuries, older age, and severity of concomitant head injury predicted the need for more than seven days of MV (46). 

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