Readiness Assessment for Extubation Planning: A QI Initiative

Extubation failure (EF) has an incidence rate of 8.9% in the health care institution. Clinical guidelines are aimed towards prevention in patients considered high risk. During implementation of a risk assessment tool, a total of 64.9% patients were identified as high risk with an odds ratio of experiencing EF similar to those identified as low. No particular characteristic shared statistically significant correlation with EF. Nursing is in a unique position to assess risk for patients on mechanical ventilation; however, more research is needed to determine better risk stratification and identify patients who may benefit from EF prevention.