Overall characteristics of included studies
| Study characteristics | |
| Number of patients enrolled | 49 (35–59) |
| Single centre | 31 (89) |
| Gestational age (weeks) | 26.1–32.8 |
| Birth weight (g) | 784–1934 |
| Day of life at time of study | 2–15 |
| Study design | |
| Randomised controlled trial | 12 (34) |
| Prospective observational | 22 (63) |
| Retrospective | 1 (3) |
| Assessment of extubation readiness | |
| Duration of assessment | |
| <3 min | 7 (20) |
| 3–10 min | 14 (40) |
| 30 min–2 hours | 8 (23) |
| 4–24 hours | 4 (11) |
| Not specified | 2 (6) |
| Level of PEEP used | |
| Zero | 6 (17) |
| 2–4 cmH2O | 9 (26) |
| 5–6 cmH2O | 5 (14) |
| Combination of two levels of PEEP | 2 (6) |
| Not specified | 13 (37) |
| Outcome: extubation success | |
| Primary definition used | |
| No reintubation | 26 (74) |
| No resumption of invasive MV | 4 (11) |
| No reintubation or institution of CPAP | 5 (14) |
| Time frame used for primary definition | |
| Anytime | 1 (3) |
| ≤24 hours | 6 (17) |
| 48 hours | 15 (43) |
| 72 hours | 11 (31) |
| 120 hours | 1 (3) |
| Not specified | 1 (3) |
Values are expressed as median (IQR), n (%) or range.
CPAP, continuous positive airway pressure; MV, mechanical ventilation; PEEP, positive end-expiratory pressure.