Protocols just as effective as physicians
Nurses and respiratory therapists using protocols can safely and effectively wean patients from mechanical ventilators, according to a recent study.
A multicenter team randomly assigned 357 intensive care unit (ICU) patients to either a protocol-directed ventilator weaning program performed by nurses or respiratory therapists or from traditional physician-directed weaning. Duration times for mechanical ventilation averaged 35 hours for the protocol group and 44 hours for the physician-directed group.
Also, protocol-directed weaning led to a total of $42,960 in savings in terms of hospital costs compared with physician-directed weaning.
The higher success rate associated with protocol-directed weaning could lead to better quality of life outcomes for patients and free physicians to perform duties that can’t be delegated to other health care providers, notes Marin H. Kollef, MD, chief researcher for the study. Kollef is affiliated with Washington University in St. Louis.
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