Protocol for weaning the SCI patient.

Ventilator weaning may be defined as the discontinuation of mechanical ventilation in patients with acute respiratory failure, based upon predetermined objective criteria and accompanied by appropriate physiological and psychological monitoring (Luce, Tyler & Pierson, 1984). This paper presents a protocol for weaning the person with an acute spinal cord injury (SCI) from the ventilator. Patients are divided into uncomplicated and complicated categories. Specific guidelines identify the physiological parameters used as our criteria for weaning the person with SCI. Specific recommendations for weaning are based on 15 years of experience at a regional SCI Center which admits over 100 persons with SCI per year. Over the past 20 months alone, we have had a 94% success rate in utilizing this protocol for the ventilation weaning of uncomplicated and complicated individuals with SCI. We believe it provides consistent guidelines for the practitioner in successfully weaning the person with SCI from the ventilator.