Home Mechanical Ventilation Use in South Korea Based on National Health Insurance Service Data

In Asian countries, nationwide data on patients undergoing home mechanical ventilation are limited.

This study investigated the prevalence and primary indications for home mechanical ventilation use in South Korea by using nationwide registry data from the National Health Insurance Service.

The study period included a total of 4,785 subjects on home mechanical ventilation (mean ± SD age, 56.0 ± 23.9 y; females, 40.1%). The estimated overall prevalence of home mechanical ventilation use in South Korea was 9.3 per 100,000, with a prevalence of 6.3 per 100,000 among children (ages < 15 y). The most common primary diagnoses were neuromuscular diseases (42.0%) and lung and/or airway diseases (27.7%). The prevalence of lung and/or airway and cerebrovascular diseases as the primary diagnosis increased with age (r = 0.310, P < .001; and r = 0.156, P < .001, respectively). Noninvasive ventilation was used by 37.2% of all the subjects, with the highest prevalence in those with neuromuscular diseases (54.4%) or chest wall diseases (53.4%). Noninvasive ventilation use was lowest among subjects with brain lesions. Home mechanical ventilation was most commonly prescribed by internists (41.3% of cases), followed by rehabilitation and neurology physicians.

These data will aid in planning the optimal health-care system for users of home mechanical ventilation locally and will allow for comparison of home mechanical ventilation use rates among countries.