Reducing Prolonged Hyperoxia in Mechanically Ventilated Patients Through Implementation of a Conservative Oxygen Weaning Protocol Versus the Current Practice

Background: Hyperoxia is known to be detrimental in healthcare, yet it continues to be a problem in mechanically ventilated patients. Oxygen weaning protocols have been discussed in many studies that have evaluated various outcome measures with mixed findings. A study completed by Cuevas et al. (2020) evaluated respiratory therapists' compliance with an oxygen weaning protocol. The conclusions of this study found that the protocol was often not followed. At a level II trauma hospital tertiary care hospital in three ICUs, patients' FIO2s were not being weaned in a timely manner. Due to the previous research on the risks of hyperoxia and poor outcomes, a conservative oxygen weaning protocol was developed. The aim of this study was to assess if implementing a conservative oxygen weaning protocol would improve oxygen weaning times in mechanically ventilated patients compared to the current oxygen weaning practice.