Abstract

The number of children requiring long-term ventilation support is increasing in many countries around the world. Children benefit from being mechanically ventilated at home rather than staying in the hospital for a longer period of time. Here, we have reviewed the related literatures and guidelines on pediatric home mechanical ventilation and shared our experience in Thailand, where there is no federal or insurance coverage for home care. An economic approach has been taken that includes using less expensive ventilators, training non-professional family caregivers, and seeking funding resources. We also report on the favorable outcome of a program we started in 1995. Of 148 children, 95 (64.2 %) have used noninvasive ventilators, 128 (86.5 %) survive, 20 (13.5 %) were weaned off, only four (2.7 %) died unexpectedly. We hope that this model approach may be useful in some areas with similar difficulties.