Discontinuation of mechanical ventilation is too frequently difficult and frustrating for the
patient and the clinician alike. With the view that expeditious withdrawal of mechanical …

The vast majority of patients who undergo mechanical ventilation are able to discontinue
ventilatory assistance within a few days. Typically, patients who require only short-term …

For a small but important fraction of patients receiving mechanical ventilation, protracted
dependence on a ventilator entails serious hazard, disability, and cost. Most such patients …

Since the early 1970s there has been an ongoing debate regarding the wisdom of
promoting unassisted spontaneous breathing throughout the course of critical illness in …

Weaning from mechanical ventilation—the process of preparing for and eventually carrying
out the removal of external ventilatory support—may be a simple task in patients with readily …

Use of mechanical ventilation is associated with several major complications despite its
lifesaving potential. Timely discontinuation of mechanical ventilation is critical to control of …

The general issue of weaning can be viewed as composed of three different groups of
patients. First, simple or easy weaning, represents 60% to 70% of patients whose first trial of …

Multiple complications associated with mechanical ventilation mandate that clinicians
expeditiously define and reverse the pathophysiologic processes that precipitate respiratory …

Background Weaning patients from mechanical ventilation is an important problem in
intensive care units. Weaning is usually conducted in an empirical manner, and a …

The capacity to ventilate the lungs has led to the widespread application of this technique in
the intensive care unit, where the number of patients ventilated and surviving has been …