Evaluation of the Child with Home Ventilation

Evaluation of the child with home ventilation support needs should be seen as a continuous process. While interface with the acute care teams is episodic and, perhaps, consequential, the need for longitudinal and comprehensive assessment and response are necessary to achieve the goals of prolonged mechanical ventilation for children with chronic respiratory failure. Such efforts should begin when making decisions about PMV implementation and extend through the intensive care setting, to the community, and any return, thereafter. A multidisciplinary approach is necessary to optimize survival, alleviate symptoms, improve function, mitigate acute on chronic respiratory processes, improve resource utilization, and promote or sustain growth and development.