Implementation of Lung Protective Ventilation in Patients With Acute Respiratory Failure

This is a quality improvement study with the purpose of observing and measuring the effects of implementation of a proven standardized lung protective ventilation protocol in the new electronic medical record system iCentra across all Intermountain Healthcare hospitals. Approximately 14,000 records will be accessed for this study from a database of mechanically ventilated patients established for quality improvement purposes. The investigators hypothesize that implementation of a standardized computerized lung protective ventilation protocol across all Intermountain Healthcare hospitals will be feasible, will decrease initial tidal volumes to the target 6 ml/kg PBW, and will improve outcomes. The objectives of this study are to:

• Determine if the implementation of lung protective ventilation (with a 6 ml/kg PBW tidal volume ventilation protocol on initiation of mechanical ventilation) improves outcomes in patients with acute respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation
• Determine if the implementation of lung protective ventilation (with a 6 ml/kg PBW tidal volume ventilation protocol on initiation of mechanical ventilation) improves outcomes in the sub-group of patients with the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
• Measure compliance with the implementation of a computerized lung protective ventilation protocol at 12 Intermountain Healthcare hospitals