Effects of Nurse-Led Mechanical Ventilator Weaning Protocol on Ventilator Duration and Weaning Success in Preterm Infants with Ventilator-Nasal Continuous Positive Airway Pressure

Abstract

This quasi-experimental research with nonrandomized control group posttest only design purposed to investigating the effects of nurse-led mechanical ventilator weaning protocol on ventilator duration and weaning success in preterm infants with ventilator-nasal continuous positive airway pressure (V-NCPAP). The study sample consisted of preterm infants who received V-NCPAP and were admitted into the pediatric and neonatal intensive care unit (P-NICU) at Sirindhorn Hospital. Twenty nine subjects in the control group received routine weaning, while thirty subjects in the experimental group received the nurse-led mechanical ventilator weaning protocol which consisted of 3 phases: 1) pre-weaning 2) inter-weaning and 3) post-weaning. The research instruments were composed of the nurse-led mechanical ventilator weaning protocol, the V-NCPAP record form and the nursing record form based on the nurse-led mechanical ventilator weaning protocol. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, Fisher’s probability exact test, independent t-test and Mann-Whitney U test. The study findings demonstrated that preterm infants in the experimental group had ventilator duration shorter than that of the preterm infants in the control group with statistical significance (p <.05), while weaning success in the experimental group had no significant difference with the control group with statistical significance (p >.05). The study findings revealed that  the nurse-led mechanical ventilator weaning protocol could reduce ventilator duration but could not induce weaning success. Therefore, the further studies on the effects of nurse-led mechanical ventilator weaning protocol in different settings or in addition to clinical outcomes of weaning success are needed for enhancing the quality of care provided to preterm infants with V-NCPAP.