Variation in Ventilation Time After Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: An Analysis From The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Adult Cardiac Surgery Database

After adjustment for severity of illness, substantial inter-center variation exists in postoperative ventilation time in this subset of patients undergoing isolated CABG. This finding represents an opportunity for multi-institutional quality improvement initiatives designed to limit variations in ventilator management and achieve the shortest possible ventilation times for all patients, thus benefiting both clinical outcomes and resource utilization.