Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation in Children with Known Respiratory Disease

This chapter addresses the specific aspects of long-term mechanical ventilation (MV) of several respiratory pathologies, focusing mainly on diseases affecting the respiratory center (highlighting congenital central hypoventilation syndrome, CCHS), on obstructive upper airway diseases, and on bronchopulmonary pathology (highlighting bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and cystic fibrosis (CF)). The scenario for prolonged MV, the recommended ventilation strategy (modes, modality, parameters) based on peculiarities of the disease, and the requirement or options, noninvasive ventilation or tracheostomy, are discussed.