Respiratory Pump Failure and its Treatment

The activity of the nervous system determines the respiratory pattern, although the degree of alveolar ventilation also depends on the mechanical properties of the chest wall and Jungs. Failure to ventilate the lungs adequately may be due to defects in respiratory control or the respiratory muscles or to an increase in the work that the muscles have to perform. The selection of the best method of treatment of respiratory pump failure requires an exact knowledge of its cause. Phrenic nerve stimulation or mechanical assistance by positive and negative pressure ventilators or by a rocking bed, can be very effective. Each of these methods has a place in the long‐term management of ventilatory failure.