• Kedar R Mahajan, John Robert Bach, Lou Saporito, and Nick Perez.
• Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School, University Hospital B-403, 150 Bergen Street, Newark, New Jersey 07103, USA.
• Muscle Nerve. 2012 Dec 1; 46 (6): 851-5.

IntroductionAlthough it is known that continuous noninvasive ventilation (CNIV) can prolong life in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/motor neuron disease (ALS/MND), in this study we explore similar claims for diaphragm pacing (DP).MethodsNIV and DP users' vital capacities (VCs) over time and duration of NIV and CNIV dependence were analyzed for 354 non-DP and 8 DP ALS/MND patients.ResultsPatients had a higher rate of monthly VC decline before NIV use (5.1 ± 7.6%) than during NIV use (2.5 ± 3.6%) (P < 0.01, 95% CI 0.84-4.5); the decline for 4 DP users was 3.7-20%. Fifty-five ALS/MND patients used part-time NIV for 19.9 ± 27.6 months until tracheostomy/death, whereas 113 others used it for 10.9 ± 10.5 months until CNIV dependence for another 12.8 ± 16.2 months. After placement, 7 DP users were CNIV dependent in 8.0 ± 7.0 months, whereas 6 underwent tracheostomy/died in 18.2 ± 13.7 months.ConclusionsCNIV prolonged the survival of 113 of the 354 non-DP and 6 DP ALS/MND patients by 12.8 and 10.2 months, respectively. DP provided no benefit on VC or mechanical ventilation-free survival.Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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