Expert: Ronald Levy, M.D. - 1/19/2007

Question
Is there a limited amount of time that a person can have a breathing tub in before becoming dependant on this device?  Also can this device cause infection if not removed within a certain time frame.  

Answer
There is no time limit. It depends on their underlying respiratory function. Patient with bad lung disease are more likely to become vent-dependent than otherwise healthy people. There are many other factors including length of surgery, amount of fluids given, other health problems, etc. As for infection, any foreign body will increase the risk of infection, and this is time dependent. In this case, the risk of pneumonia is significantly hight than if the perosn was not intubated. Again, this is multifactorial, but intubation is definitely one of the instigating factors.

Ronald Levy, MD
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology
UTMB-Galveston