LIMITATIONS
The current meta-analysis had several limitations. First, 72 hours was
used as the window of observation following extubation. This may have
helped to distinguish between extubation failure and reintubation for
other reasons, but a longer window
may have enabled detection of subsequent extubation failures and more
precise estimates of the effectiveness of interventions. Second, for
several outcomes investigated data were only available from two or three
studies. Nevertheless, these data were analyzed to visually describe and
quantify pooled effects. Lastly, the six studies with a collective total
of 265 preterm infants in this meta-analysis had quite small sample
sizes, which may have resulted in bias.