BackgroundPatients with prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV) is usually associated with muscle wasting and diaphragm weakness, resulting in high medical costs and mortality. Adequate energy and protein intake were beneficial in sarcopenia patients. We aimed to investigate the impact of protein intake in weaning parameters in patients with PMV.Materials and methodsWe enrolled patients with PMV (mechanical ventilation ≥6 h/day for ≥21 days) from a respiratory care center (RCC) of a tertiary medical center from December 2020 to October 2022, and classified them into weaning success and weaning failure groups. The patients’ characteristics, nutrition records, weaning parameters and outcomes were analyzed.ResultsA total of 289 patients were included (mean age 73.5 years). Of the 289 patients, 149 were weaned successfully and 140 were not. The average protein intake was higher in the weaning success group than in the weaning failure group (1.22 ± 0.320 versus 0.99 ± 0.332 g/kg/day, p