Protocol-directed weaning conventional weaning from mechanical ventilation for neurocritical patients in an intensive care unit: a nonrandomized quasi-experimental study.

Objective: To investigate whether protocol-directed weaning in neurocritical patients would reduce the rate of extubation failure (as a primary outcome) and the associated complications (as a secondary outcome) compared with conventional weaning.

Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted in a medical-surgical intensive care unit from January 2016 to December 2018. Patients aged 18 years or older with an acute neurological disease who were on mechanical ventilation > 24 hours were included.

Airway Ultrasound in Critically Ill Patients: A Narrative Review.

Airway assessment and management have a central role in critical care medicine. Airway ultrasound can help us evaluate the anatomy, facilitate interventions such as intubation in difficult airways and tracheostomy, prevent post-extubation complications, and diagnose dysphagia. In this review, we will summarize the current use of ultrasound in airway assessment and management in critically ill patients.