• Tai-Heng Chen, Wen-Chen Liang, I-Chen Chen, Yi-Ching Liu, Jong-Hau Hsu, and Yuh-Jyh Jong.
• Division of Pediatric Emergency, Department of Pediatrics, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung.
• Ther Adv Respir Dis. 2019 Jan 1; 13: 1753466619875928.

BackgroundTo determine the effectiveness of combined noninvasive ventilation (NIV) and mechanical insufflator-exsufflator (MI-E) for acute respiratory failure (ARF) in patients with neuromuscular disease (NMD), and outcome predictors.MethodsA prospectively observational study of patients with ARF was conducted in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). All received combined NIV/MI-E during PICU stays between 2007 and 2017. Pertinent clinical variables of heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), pH, PaCO2, and PaO2/FiO2 ratio were collected at baseline and at 2 h, 4-8 h, and 12-24 h after initiating use of NIV/MI-E. Treatment success was defined as avoiding intubation.ResultsA total of 62 ARF episodes in 56 patients with NMD (median age, 13 years) were enrolled. The most frequent underlying NMD was spinal muscular atrophy (32/62, 52%). ARF was primarily due to pneumonia (65%). The treatment success rate was 86%. PICU stay and hospitalization were shorter in the success group (9.4 ± 6.1 vs. 21.9 ± 13.9 days and 16.3 ± 7.8 vs. 33.6 ± 17.9 days, respectively; both p < 0.05). HR, RR, pH, and PaCO2 showed a progressive improvement, particularly after 4 h following successful NIV/MI-E treatment. RR decrease at 4 h, and pH increase and PaCO2 decrease at 4-8 h might predict success of NIV/MI-E treatment. The multivariate analysis identified PaCO2 at 4-8 h of 58.0 mmHg as an outcome predictor of NIV/MI-E treatment.ConclusionsApplying combined NIV/MI-E in the acute care setting is an efficient means of averting intubation in NMD patients with ARF. Clinical features within 8 h of the institution may predict treatment outcome. The reviews of this paper are available via the supplemental material section.

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