Non-invasive home ventilation.
Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) provides significant advantages to the paediatrician who cares for children with chronic ventilatory insufficiency and who would like to manage these children in the home environment. There is a growing experience in the use of NIV in the management of children with upper airway obstruction, ventilatory failure due to weakness or distortion of the thoracic cage and in children with abnormalities to their central respiratory drive especially during sleep. Success hinges on choosing the correct patient and the most appropriate device with a team approach to both the early assessment and follow-up. It may not be successful on the first attempt and often a phased introduction and some perseverance is required on the part of the paediatric team and the family. Home ventilation is possible, practical and advantageous compared with institutional living and non-invasive techniques can assist the paediatrician in achieving this goal.
Wallis
C
C
Respiratory Unit, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust, Great Ormond Street, London, WC1N 3JH, UK. c.wallis@ich.ucl.ac.uk
D002648:Child; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D012121:Respiration, Artificial / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D012131:Respiratory Insufficiency / Q000628:therapy*