Defining successful non‐invasive ventilation initiation: Data from a real‐life cohort

Background and objective When home non‐invasive ventilation (NIV) is initiated, five goals need to be achieved: a daily use >4 h/day, an improvement in gas exchange, health‐related quality of life (HRQL) and sleep quality without side effects. Our aim was to assess how frequently these five goals were reached and the factors predictive of achievement. Methods We conducted a monocentric cohort study that included patients electively established on home NIV over 2 years. HRQL was assessed at baseline and follow‐up by the Severe Respiratory Insufficiency questionnaire. Adequate initiation was defined as the achievement of at least three of five goals and successful initiation as the achievement of all. Results Two‐hundred and fifty patients were included at baseline. NIV was initiated for: obesity hypoventilation syndrome (n = 95; 38%), neuromuscular disease (n = 70; 28%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (n = 66; 26%) and chest wall disease (n = 19; 8%). At follow‐up, measures of all five goals were available in 141 (56%) patients. NIV initiation was adequate for 96 (68%) patients and successful for 12 (9%) patients. In multivariate analysis, a tidal volume ≥ 7.8 ml/kg of ideal body weight was associated with an increased likelihood of adequate NIV initiation (hazard ratio: 5.765 [95% CI:1.824–18.223], p = 0.006]. Improvement in daytime partial arterial carbon dioxide pressure (PaCO2) was not correlated to improvement in HRQL or sleep quality. Severe to very severe NIV‐related side effects occurred in 114 (47%) patients and were associated with higher daytime PaCO2 (6.35 ± 1.08 vs. 5.92 ± 0.79 kPa, p