Invasive and non-invasive home ventilation - Changes between 1982 and 1996

Patients and Methods: In our centre. 111 patients with chronic ventilatory insufficiency (33 males, 78 males, age 48 +/- 18 years, range 3 to 76 years ) were treated by intermittent positive pressure ventilation between 1982 a nd 1996. Underlying diseases were neuromuscular diseases in 29%, sleep-rela ted hypoventilation in 26%, kyphoscoliosis in 15%, chronic obstructive airw ay disease in 15%, and post-tuberculosis syndromes in 12%. Singular indicat ions were 1 bronchiectasis, , 1 lung fibrosis and 1 cystic fibrosis. Results: Until 1991, most patients were ventilated via tracheostoma (10 of 16), in the following years 87 of 95 patients could be ventilated via a nas al or facial mask. Ventilation mode was a controlled one in 80 patients and an assisted one in 31 patients, average ventilation time during night was 6 to 8 hours. In the majority of patients hypercapnia was not only removed during ventilation but also at daytime as an indicator of improvement of ve ntilatory insufficiency accomplished by a clearly better quality of life an d daytime activity. Tell patients (9%) died due to their underlying disease s, 5 of them in the first year of intermittent ventilation.