Chest
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Multicenter Study
Changing patterns in long-term noninvasive ventilation: a 7-year prospective study in the Geneva Lake area.
To describe a 7-year follow-up (1992 to 2000) of patients who were treated by home nasal positive-pressure ventilation (NPPV) for chronic hypercapnic respiratory failure. ⋯ Major changes in patient selection for NPPV occurred during the study period with a marked increase in COPD and OHS. The shift toward less expensive pressure-cycled ventilators and the decrease in hospitalizations after initiating NPPV have had positive impacts on the cost-effectiveness of NPPV in patients with chronic respiratory failure.