Abstract
Educational aims
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To discuss the basic principles of ventilator function
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To help the reader to recognise the different features of a home care ventilator
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To outline the advantages and drawbacks of the different home care ventilators
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To provide some recommendations to facilitate the clinical management of patients on home care ventilator
Summary Mechanical ventilation, applied either invasively through a tracheotomy tube or noninvasively via a mask, is increasingly used for long-term management of many forms of severe chronic respiratory failure in the home setting. In recent years, the quality of the ventilators for long-term home mechanical ventilation has improved considerably and, concomitantly, the number of machines available has also increased. This broader range of commercially available machines is clearly an advantage; however, it makes the choice of the optimal device for a specific patient more difficult. The aim of the present article is to provide useful information to help and guide the choice of device for long-term mechanical ventilation in the home setting.
Footnotes
Statement of Interest
Cesare Gregoretti has received consulting fees or honorarium from Covidien, Sapio Life, Smiths Ind. Support for travel to meetings or other purposes from Vivisol. Payment for development of educational presentations from Covidien. Paolo Navalesi has received fees for consultancy, grants or grants pending, and payment for lectures. Consultancy: Hillrom; Grant: Maquet Critical Care; Payment for lecture: GSK; Royalty: Intersurgical/Starmed.
- ©ERS 2013