OCONIV

According to current guideline recommendations, check-ups for out-of-hospital ventilation must be carried out on an inpatient basis. The study investigates whether an outpatient check-up leads to an improvement in quality of life.

The number of patients with chronic respiratory impairment who are ventilated at home is steadily increasing in Germany. The current guideline of the German Society for Pneumology and Respiratory Medicine (DGP) e. V. on outpatient ventilation calls for mandatory inpatient monitoring with nightly checks on ventilation quality.

Irrespective of rising patient numbers, however, there are already supply bottlenecks today. As a result, checks are delayed or not carried out at all. This is accompanied by a decline in the quality of care. The project therefore aims to determine which patients really need inpatient care and in which cases the check-up can also take place in an outpatient care structure. For patients, this would be associated with a reduced risk of hospital-acquired infections and positive effects on quality of life. The outpatient structure is linked to a respiratory centre so that inpatient care can be initiated quickly in the event of an acute deterioration.

OCONIV involves a randomised, controlled study in which the care of patients whose ventilation control is carried out on an outpatient basis is compared with inpatient control. Health-related quality of life, clinical parameters and device data are analysed.

If successful, the project can lay the scientific foundation for the care of outpatient ventilated patients in the home environment and counteract future care bottlenecks. It should also help to dovetail inpatient and outpatient treatment for critically ill patients with chronic respiratory failure.

Research field: COPD patients in stage IV according to GOLD with existing non-invasive outpatient ventilation