Home Mechanical Ventilation of Pediatric Patients. |
Kyoung Ok Kim, Ah Young Oh, Chul Joong Lee, Chong Doo Park, Chong Sung Kim |
Department of Anesthesiology, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea. cskim@snu.ac.kr |
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Abstract |
BACKGROUND In the past patients who needed ventilatory care were treated in the hospital but now, thanks to advanced technology, those patients can be treated at their homes.
This study was done to evaluate the clinical course of each patient and the effectiveness of home ventilatory care program. METHODS We reviewed ten cases of ventilator - dependent children who were discharged from the pediatric intensive care unit since we started a home ventilatory care program. RESULTS Six patients remained ventilator - dependent, three patients died and one patient cannot be reached. The clinical courses before home ventilatory care was decided were diverse. None of the patients needed hospital care related to complications of mechanical ventilatory care. CONCLUSIONS Despite the small number of patients and the short follow up duration, we concluded that ventilator-dependent children can be successfully managed at their homes. |
Key Words:
Children; mechanical ventilation |
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