Mouthpiece ventilation in Duchenne muscular dystrophy: a rescue strategy for noncompliant patients

Abstract

ABSTRACTObjective:To evaluate mouthpiece ventilation (MPV) in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) who are noncompliant with noninvasive ventilation (NIV). Methods:We evaluated four young patients with DMD who had previously refused to undergo NIV. Each patient was reassessed and encouraged to try MPV. Results:The four patients tolerated MPV well and were compliant with NIV at home. MPV proved to be preferable and more comfortable than NIV with any other type of interface. Two of the patients requir…