Home Mechanical Ventilation in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Patients Is Not Always a Problem

Economic Evaluation Of Hospital Admissions For Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Non-invasive management of an acute chest infection for a patient with ALS.

We describe a man diagnosed with non-bulbar amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) who uses 24-h non-invasive ventilator at home, and assisted cough through the use of the mechanical insufflation-exsufflation (MAC) device (CoughAssist, J.H. Emerson). This was essential for the removal of bronchial secretions in order to provide successful non-invasive management (and indeed less suffering for the patient) during an acute respiratory tract infection with hypoxemia and failure of manually assisted cough.

Noninvasive respiratory muscle aids during PEG placement in ALS patients with severe ventilatory impairment.

Abstract Although no clear recommendations are given about when percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) should be placed in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients, some experts underline the risk of respiratory complications when patients had severe ventilatory muscle impairment (SVMI). Aim To evaluate the efficacy of noninvasive ventilation (NIV) and mechanically assisted cough (MAC) to avoid respiratory complications related to PEG placement in ALS patients with SVMI. Material and methods Prospective study including ALS patients who had chosen to have PEG placement timed by swallowing dysfunction with the aid of NIV and MAC if needed. PEG was carried out under volume-cycled NIV th…

Efficacy Of Varenicline In Smokers With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease