Holmström, M & Jangvert, M Protocolized weaning from the ventilator. To have a plan is more important than how it is constructed and a plan only works if you use it. Degree Project, 15 Credit Points. Malmö University: Health and Society, Department of Nursing, 2011. Ventilator treatment is lifesaving for the most critically ill patients in an intensive care unit. However, when the patient recovers from illness, ventilator treatment is withdrawn. The process of weaning the patient from the ventilator can be done in different ways. Protocolized weaning has in several studies been shown to shorten the duration of mechanical ventilation but is not the standard of care in all intensive care units. The aim of the present study was to investigate standardized wea-ningprotocols. What parameters define the protocols that can be shown to shorten weaning? Since many factors might be presumed to influence weaning, the aim of the present study was also to determine other possibly important factors than the protocols themselves. Ten studies – nine with a quantitative approach and one with a qualitative approach – were found in a literature search in Pubmed and Cinahl. The studies were analyzed and topics were identified and used for structuring the data from the studies. The conclusion of the present study was that the design of the weaningprotocol seems less important than the existence of protocolized weaning. However, protocolized weaning as such was not enough for success – ambitious education on the usage of the protocol was essential for a suc-cessful weaningprotocol.