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Walking with continuous positive airway pressure

¹ Surgical Intensive Care Unit, ² Dept of Pediatrics, Division of Intensive Care, and ³ Dept of Home Ventilation, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.

CORRESPONDENCE: M. W. N. Nijsten, Surgical Intensive Care Unit, University Medical Center Groningen, P.O. Box 30.001, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands. Fax: 31 503619986. E-mail: m.w.n.nijsten{at}chir.umcg.nl

Keywords: Boussignac, chronic lung disease of infancy, continuous positive airway pressure, tracheobronchomalacia, tracheostomy

Received: March 17, 2005
Accepted August 17, 2005

A ventilator-dependent child had been in the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) ever since birth. As a result, she had fallen behind considerably in her development.

After 18 months, continuous positive airway pressure was successfully administered via a tracheostomy tube with a novel lightweight device. This enabled her to walk in the PICU. With this device, the child was discharged home where she could walk with an action range of 10 m. Subsequently, her psychomotor development improved remarkably.

To the authors' knowledge, this is the first case report of a patient, adult or paediatric, who could actually walk with a sufficient radius of action while receiving long-term respiratory support.