Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on adherence to non-invasive ventilation in children

This article investigated changes in adherence to noninvasive ventilation (NIV) in children during the first year of pandemic COVID-19.

A retrospective review was conducted of the medical records of 82 children up to 18 years of age (62% male; age 8.6±4.6 years ) who used home NIV through the Stollery Pediatric NIV program in Edmonton, Canada, during March 2019-March 2021. Demographic data, clinical characteristics, and adherence information from machine downloads were collected before and during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Comparisons about adherence were made for 6- and 12-month periods in the pre-pandemic era.

Overall, there were no changes in NIV adherence during the pandemic. In fact, the mean minutes of NIV before and during the pandemic were 390±219 and 405±300min, respectively, which was not statistically significant. Separating the increasing and decreasing adherence groups, the differences in adherence before and during the pandemic became significant, with no differences between demographic/clinical variables or adherence before the pandemic. There were no changes in NIV adherence during the first 6 months of the pandemic compared with before the pandemic, but NIV use increased significantly by 9-57min over the next 6-12 months. BPAP users made more prolonged use of NIV than CPAP users at all time points, with a general upward trend over time. Despite the significant life disruption created by COVID-19 and changes to virtual care, children using home NIV maintained adequate adherence.

Reference

Halperin H, Chalifour M, Bedi PK, Milne E, Dobson L, Olmstead DL, Castro-Codesal ML. Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on adherence to non-invasive ventilation in children. J Clin Sleep Med. 2022 Sep 16. doi: 10.5664/jcsm.10284. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36111360.