Patients' expectations for a new lightweight portable noninvasive ventilator for shortness of breath

Patients9 expectations for a new lightweight portable noninvasive ventilator for shortness of breath. Introduction: The VitaBreath (Philips-Respironics, Murrysville, PA) is a portable noninvasive ventilator developed to provide short-term relief of dyspnea associated with physical exertion in COPD patients. Objectives: 1) to evaluate patients’ expectation for usefulness of VitaBreath in daily life; 2) to identify the clinical profile of patients who had the most positive anticipation of usefulness. Methods: In this multi-center prospective survey, the VitaBreath was introduced to COPD patients by using a short video; patients could handle the device, but did not use it. The perception of usefulness was rated using a 10-item scale (0=not useful at all; 10=very useful). Anthropometrics, medical history, respiratory function and quality of life (QoL) were collected at inclusion. Results: 137 patients were included in the analysis (63% male; mean (SD) age= 67(9) years; FEV1=0.96(0.4)L); CAT score= 19.9(6.9); 71% had a MRC-scale ≥3/4. 57% of the patients graded the usefulness of VitaBreath ≥9/10. In multivariate analysis, a high usefulness perception(≥9/10) was independently associated with a FEV1/FVC Conclusion: COPD patients with severe respiratory impairment, but with relatively well preserved QoL expressed the highest expectations for usefulness of VitaBreath. These data will help to better define the appropriate COPD population for future interventional trial