Ventilation non invasive et soins palliatifs en pédiatrie. État des lieux en France

Objectives The benefits of non-invasive ventilation (NIV) have been clearly demonstrated in pediatrics. In palliative care, NIV can improve the level of comfort and quality of life and can decrease dyspnea. The objective was to survey pediatricians' opinions and practices regarding NIV in palliative care in France. Design A mail survey was conducted among pediatric pneumologists, intensivists and palliative medicine consultants from February 2015 to March 2015. Results In case of acute respiratory failure, 84% of the responding practitioners found NIV appropriate in do-not-intubate (DNI) children, while only 35% of them found it appropriate in comfort-measures-only (CMO) children (P Conclusion French pediatricians habitually use NIV for management of acute or progressive respiratory symptoms in DNI children. In CMO children, a majority of responding practitioners find NIV inappropriate. In palliative care, the indications for and efficacy of NIV are evaluated based on clinical criteria and rarely on gasometric criteria.