Weaning Strategies in the ICU for Ventilated Patients

When mechanical ventilation is initiated, the near-, and long-term goal is ventilator liberation. How and when that goal is achieved is of the utmost importance. Spontaneous breathing trials are one aspect of ventilator liberation; support of the patient's respiratory status post-mechanical ventilation must also be guided by current evidence. This lecture will review evidenced based practice that lead to successful ventilator liberation.