[Study of home ventilation in severe respiratory insufficient patients (author's transl)]

Results of our study of 91 cases show that many indications of ventilation at home are debatable:--Tracheostomized patients submitted to continuous ventilation with short disconnected periods;--Patients using the respiratory apparatus more than 4--6 hours per day, through a mouth-piece. The existence of a reserve closely related to the intensive care department and mobile emergency unit (S.A.M.U.) facilitates supervision and eventual technical or medical assistance. In addition, the running cost remains small because of the adaptability of the system. However, it seems of interest to point out a group of 11 patients whose treatment was interrupted either because of their improvement (physical therapy, suppression of tobacco mainly), inadequate indications, or poor cooperation.