Outcome of mechanical ventilation: A review from an ICU in Pakistan

The outcome of mechanical ventilation is reported in a prospective series of 124 patients wile were managed in a University Hospital intensive care unit in Pakistan. Fifty-one of these patients died in the ICU and 7 died on the ward. The overall mortality following mechanical ventilation was 48%. Post cardiac arrest patients and patients with malignancies had a mortality rate of 88% and 71% respectively. Patients with neurological problems had 47% mortality and those admitted with major organ systemic failure had a mortality of 42%. Patients with myasthenia gravis, tetanus and Guillain Barre Syndrome had 100% recovery. Similarly surgical patients ventilated either electively or for complications occurring in the post operative period had no mortality, Patients with head injury or intracelebral bleeding were found to have a mortality of 29%. The series is compared to similarly reported series from other developed and developing countries.