Exclusion criteria included any type of acute condition (cardiac arrhythmia) or chronic condition, such as insufficient congestive heart failure or unstable ischemic cardiac disease17, that could compromise weaning or could impede the accomplishment of inspiratory muscle training (neuropathy and myopathy). Tracheostomized patients (in the pre-test), those with neurological problems (cerebral vascular accident, cerebrospinal trauma or spinal medullar trauma), those with morbid obesity or those taking medicine that could cause a disorder of attention, as well as cases of auto-extubation, were also excluded.