Weaning patients from mechanical ventilation. A knowledge-based system approach.

The WEANing PROtocol (WEANPRO) knowledge-based system assists respiratory therapists and nurses in weaning post-operative cardiovascular patients from mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit. The knowledge contained in WEANPRO is represented by rules and is implemented in M.1 by Teknowledge, Inc. WEANPRO will run on any IBM-compatible microcomputer. WEANPRO's performance in weaning patients in the intensive care unit was evaluated three ways: (1) a statistical comparison between the mean number of arterial blood gases required to wean patients to a T-piece with and without the use of WEANPRO, (2) a critique of the suggestions offered by the system by clinicians not involved in the system development, and (3) an inspection of the users acceptance of WEANPRO in the intensive care unit. The results of the evaluations revealed that using WEANPRO significantly decreases the number of arterial blood gas analyses needed to wean patients from total dependance on mechanical ventilation to independent breathing using a T-piece. In doing so, WEANPRO's suggestions are accurate and its use is accepted by the clinicians. Currently, WEANPRO is being used in the intensive care unit at the East Unit of Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.