Nurses Performance about Safety Weaning from Mechanical Ventilation of Critically Ill Adults and Children

Abstract

Mechanical ventilation is a most life-supportive medical aid for critically-ill adults and children suffer from respiratory failure. Ventilator weaning is that the method of gradually withdrawing artificial ventilation for brief or long time in critical care setting. Weaning from ventilator is a difficult task for nurses, and knowing about weaning criteria is most important component for getting successful outcome for the critically-ill adults and children with mechanical ventilation. Aim: assess the nurses performance about safety weaning from mechanical ventilation of critically ill adults and children . By using a descriptive study design the study conducted on 50 nurses working in critical care units of adult and pediatric intensive care units. Data collected by, structured interviewed questionnaire and observation checklist. Results: the study revealed that two fifth working in medical intensive care and 28% of them working in pediatric intensive care 56% of studied nurses had unsatisfactory level of knowledge and 58% of them had unsatisfactory practice level regarding weaning criteria of mechanical ventilation, with statistically significant relation between training courses, educational level, age and assessed parameters among the studied nurses. Conclusion: More than half sector of the studied nurses had inadequate knowledge and practice regarding weaning from mechanical ventilation of critically ill adults and children at intensive care units. Hence, it is strongly recommended for need of protocol, in-service training, supervision and reinforcement for improvement of weaning knowledge and practice among nurses working adult and pediatric intensive care units.