Settings for Ventilator-Assisted Individuals—When and Why—LTAC-SNF-CAVC

Clinical Settings for Ventilator-Assisted Individuals— When and Why-LTAC-SNF-CAVC 

Respiratory Pathophysiology Unit, University Hospital, Padova. Italy 

Pulmonary and Respiratory Intensive Care Unit-University Hospital Pisa. Italy and Pulmonary Rehabilitation and Weaning Center, Auxilium Vitae, Volterra (PI). Italy 

Long-term mechanical ventilation (LTMV) has existed for over 50 years, with polio survivors of the mid-20th century representing the first generation of ventilator-assisted individuals (VAIs) (1). LTMV was initially conceived as a hospital-centered treatment, and intensive care units (ICU) remained the primary sites for treatment of most of the long-term VAIs until the end of the 1980s (2,3). 

However, in the early 1990s, the management of VAIs in ICU became complicated by three new critical elements, i.e., the increasing number of VAIs, increasing costs of their treatment, and greater emphasis on their quality of life. 

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