Retrospective review of a weaning and rehabilitation cohort within a tertiary critical care unit

Twose, Paul, Parry-Jones, Jack, Jones, Benjamin J. and Riddell, Joseph R. 2026. Retrospective review of a weaning and rehabilitation cohort within a tertiary critical care unit. Australian Critical Care 39 (1) , 101496. 10.1016/j.aucc.2025.101496

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Abstract

Introduction Patients admitted to critical care are increasingly older with complex comorbidities. These patients frequently have prolonged lengths of stay in intensive care and high rehabilitation requirements. Specialist weaning units have been developed to provide for a proportion of this patient cohort. However, often patients with ongoing multiorgan failure or persistent critical illness do not meet criteria for inclusion. We report on the development of a weaning and rehabilitation cohort within an existing critical care footprint, with the focus on improving outcomes for a broader group of patients with prolonged lengths of stay, stable multiorgan failure, and persistent critical illness. Methods Retrospective data were collected for all patients transferred to the weaning and rehabilitation cohort within a single tertiary critical care unit within the United Kingdom. Routine data were used from existing sources. Results During the 12-month evaluation period, there were 2018 admissions to the critical care unit. Of these, 92 (4.6 %) patients were transferred to the weaning and rehabilitation cohort, of which 74 met local inclusion with the remaining transferred for capacity purposes. The 74 patients had an average length of stay of 61.2 days, accounting for 32.6% of the total critical care bed days within the single intensive care unit. Survival at the point of intensive care unit and hospital discharge was 86.5% and 79.5%, respectively. Conclusion As critical care survival improves, there are an increasing number of patients with challenging ventilatory weaning and rehabilitation needs. The creation of a ventilatory weaning and rehabilitation area within a tertiary critical care unit has the potential to increase survival rates and liberation from both mechanical ventilation and long-term tracheostomisation in patients with significant needs.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Healthcare Sciences
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	1036-7314
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	19 December 2025
Date of Acceptance:	12 November 2025
Last Modified:	19 Dec 2025 15:45
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/183392

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