[Intermediate care units and noninvasive ventilation]

Intermediate care units (IMC) have been introduced to provide optimal patient management according to disease severity and to bridge the gap between intensive care (ICU) and general wards. Most patients that are referred to an IMC need monitoring and intensive analgetic treatment. Over the past years noninvasive ventilation (NIV) and weaning have emerged as important new forms of active treatment in the IMC. Most studies that have been published so far demonstrate that an IMC improves patient outcome and lowers costs, although randomized controlled trials are missing. NIV reduces mortality, the need for intubation as well as ICU and hospital length of stay in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other disorders that cause respiratory failure. In many cases NIV can be performed in the IMC, a fact that reduces the number of ICU admissions, lowers costs and improves patient care. The high prevalence of pulmonary diseases and NIV emphasizes the importance of pneumologists as directors of both ICU and IMC.