[Long-term artificial respiration at home in restrictive ventilation disorders]

Combined chest wall and lung alterations may lead to severe restrictive respiratory disorder. In advanced cases with hypercapnia, hypoxemia and oxygen intolerance during spontaneous breathing, there are almost insuperable therapeutic difficulties. Three of such patients have been treated, after tracheostomy, at home for 60, 34 and 22 months respectively by intermittent IPPV ventilation. With an improved quality of life all these patients survived up to now. This result seems to be encouraging.