Evidence-Based Guidelines for Weaning and Discontinuing Ventilatory Support*

TL;DR: In noncardiac surgery, surgical ICU subjects, elevated blood urea nitrogen level, low hemoglobin level, and muscle weakness were identified as independent risk factors for re-intubation.

TL;DR: Measuring the percentage change in the BNP level during a SBT may be a good predictor of weaning success from mechanical ventilation in respiratory patients.

TL;DR: Physicians performing early tracheostomy should not anticipate a large potential survival benefit, and future research should concentrate on identifying which patients will receive the most benefit.

TL;DR: Protocol-directed sedation with propofol vs. midazolam by nurses in intensive care on efficacy, haemodynamic stability and patient satisfaction was similar in quality and able to achieve an appropriate depth of sedation during the sedative period.

TL;DR: The patient is a 28-year-old man whose acute onset of shortness of breath and vague chest pain began shortly after completing a 10-hour auto trip, and the physician is very apprehensive about his symptoms.

TL;DR: You are back where you were in the previous article1 on diagnostic tests: in the library studying an article that will guide you in interpreting ventilation-perfusion (V/Q) lung scans.

TL;DR: Daily screening of the respiratory function of adults receiving mechanical ventilation, followed by trials of spontaneous breathing in appropriate patients and notification of their physicians when the trials were successful, can reduce the duration of mechanical ventilation and the cost of intensive care and is associated with fewer complications than usual care.

TL;DR: A prospective, randomized, multicenter study involving 546 patients who had received mechanical ventilation for a mean of 7.5±6.1 days and who were considered by their physicians to be ready for weaning, randomly assigned to undergo one of four weaning techniques.