The Effectiveness of Respiratory Care Protocols

The principles underlying evidence-based practice are that treatments are effective and can offer benefit to patients. At the same time, optimal practice also avoids offering treatments for which evidence of efficacy is not available. In this regard, the goal of respiratory care protocols is to optimize the allocation of respiratory care services by prescribing to each patient treatments likely to confer benefit and avoiding those that do not. As reviewed in this paper, currently available evidence suggests that protocols (1) help minimize unnecessary arterial blood sampling, placement of arterial catheters, and bronchopulmonary hygiene therapies, (2) help optimize the process of weaning patients from mechanical ventilation, (3) help minimize waste of oxygen, (4) allocate respiratory care services better than does physician-directed care.