A concept analysis of successful weaning from mechanical ventilation

The process of being weaned from mechanical ventilation is a stressful transition for critically ill patients who are taken off ventilation assistance and regain spontaneous breathing. Degree of weaning success is being increasingly used as an outcome indicator in clinical practice and lay literature. However, "successful weaning" remains a largely undefined concept in nursing practice. Following the concept analysis framework of Walker and Avant (1995), any such analysis that targets development of an operational definition of successful weaning should focus on two distinct sets of indicators, namely objective physiological and subjective psychological. Listing defining attributes and developing a model case will accurately reflect underlying relationships between weaning concepts.