ABSTRACT
Since the polio epidemic of the 1950s, mechanical ventilation (MV) has been the cornerstone of modern intensive care units (ICUs) where it has had a significant impact on the survival of patients with respiratory failure (1). Although the main purpose of initiatingMV is to serve as a bridge until spontaneous breathing can be restored, in as many as 20% of ventilated patients, liberation from MV is not easily or will never be achieved (2,3). Thus, prolonged MV has become an alternative for those patients who having reached a level of stability, nevertheless, require ventilatory support. Prolonged ventilatory support has evolved substantially over the last decades mainly because of the rapid evolution of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV), which has facilitated MV in the home setting.
