Monitoring of Physiologic Features and Treatment Aspects of Children on Home Invasive Mechanical Ventilation
Jasneek Chawla MBBS BSc (Hons) MRCPCH FRACP PhD1,2, Hui-leng Tan MBBChir, MD(res)3
1Paediatric Respiratory and Sleep Specialist, Respiratory and Sleep Medicine
Queensland Children’s Hospital, Brisbane, Australia
2Kids Sleep Research Team, Child Health Research Centre, The University of Queensland
3Dept of Paediatric Respiratory Medicine, Royal Brompton Hospital, London, UK
Keywords
Tracheostomy ventilation, Monitoring, Paediatric long term ventilation
Abstract
Paediatric home invasive mechanical ventilation patients are a small but resource intensive cohort, requiring close monitoring and multidisciplinary care. Patients are often dependent on their ventilator for life support, with any significant complications such as equipment failure, tracheostomy blockage, or accidental decannulation becoming potentially life threatening, if not identified quickly.  This review discusses the indications and variations in practice worldwide, in terms of models of care, including home care provision, choice of equipment and monitoring. With advances in technology, optimal monitoring strategies for home, continue to be debated: In-built ventilator alarms are often inadequately sensitive for paediatric patients, necessitating additional external monitoring devices to minimise risk. Pulse oximetry has been the preferred monitoring modality at home, though in some special circumstances such as congenital central hypoventilation syndrome, home carbon dioxide monitoring may be important to consider. Children should be under regular follow up at specialist respiratory centres where clinical evaluation, nocturnal oximetry and capnography monitoring and/or poly(somno)graphy and analysis of ventilator download data can be performed regularly to monitor progress. Recent exciting advances in technology, particularly in telemonitoring, which have potential to hugely benefit this complex group of patients are also discussed.
Introduction
The population of children managed at home with ventilatory support has continued to grow worldwide.(1) This is a direct result of advances in medical care and technology, which have increased survival rates amongst children with complex medical disorders who may have co-existing chronic respiratory failure.(2, 3) Home mechanical ventilation (HMV) is now well established as a method of facilitating discharge home for this group of children, enabling them to participate in daily family activities, attend school and receive an overall improved quality of life.(4) HMV can be either invasive (IV), via a surgically inserted tracheostomy tube or non-invasive (NIV), delivered via a nasal or full-face mask interface. Whilst in children the preference is always to avoid invasive ventilation, in some instances the severity of the condition or underlying disease necessitate this method of ventilation.(5) Monitoring and safety considerations differ in children with invasive HMV compared to those receiving NIV and are reviewed in this article, in the context of advances in available technology, existing guidelines and current practice.