Protocol-driven ventilator weaning: reviewing the evidence.

Though seminal clinical trials have identified efficacious methods of liberating patients from mechanical ventilation (ie, weaning), this knowledge is not applied often by physicians in routine practice. Weaning protocols are a strategies by which research results can be translated effectively and efficiently into clinical practice, but results of clinical trials evaluating weaning protocols have not been uniform, and controversy continues to surround this important area in critical care medicine. This article reviews the rationale for and against the routine use of weaning protocols and highlights informative details of many clinical trials that have evaluated such protocols.