Beyond the ventilator-free days: review of several estimands.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Mortality is a critical endpoint in clinical research, but identifying meaningful differences necessitates large sample sizes. Consequently, composite outcomes such as ventilator-free days (VFDs) have been developed, combining survival and ventilation duration into a single measure. Different statistical methods used to analyse VFDs lead to different estimands. Traditionally, VFDs are treated as a count; however, some models consider time to death and time to extubation separately. This review explores the applicability of several time-to-event models and innovative approaches.

Main text

The first model to consider is the competing risks approach using the Fine-Gray model. This approach focuses solely on the initial extubation event and considers death as a compet

SUBMITTER: Renard Triche L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12323073 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature