Resp Care
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Multicenter Study
Long-term survival in patients with tracheostomy and prolonged mechanical ventilation in Olmsted County, Minnesota.
An increasing number of patients require prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV), which is associated with high morbidity and poor long-term survival, but there are few data regarding the incidence and outcome of PMV patients from a community perspective. ⋯ There was a considerable incidence of tracheostomy for PMV. The presence of COPD was an independent predictor of 1-year mortality.