The number of patients receiving long-term ventilation outside hospital settings continues to rise in Germany. Long-term invasive ventilation may result in permanent dependence on a ventilator, a tracheostomy tube, and out-of-hospital intensive care. For those affected, this often means significant limitations to their quality of life. At the same time, this form of care is highly resource-intensive and costly.

The healthcare project PRiVENT – Prevention of Invasive Ventilation through Early Identification and Early Intervention in At-Risk Patients was developed as part of the Innovation Fund of the German Federal Joint Committee (G-BA). Its aim is to identify patients at high risk of requiring long-term ventilation at an early stage and provide them with access to the expertise of specialized weaning centers. Even in difficult cases, successful weaning from mechanical ventilation may still be possible. The key is to identify and fully explore a patient’s potential for weaning at an early stage, before long-term out-of-hospital ventilation is initiated.

To achieve this, interdisciplinary weaning boards and weaning consultations bring specialist expertise in respiratory medicine and respiratory therapy directly to the intensive care units treating these patients. Together with the local clinical teams, specialists provide advice on issues such as ventilation strategies, weaning attempts, and the possibility of removing a tracheostomy tube. In this way, specialized expertise can also reach patients being treated at hospitals without their own dedicated weaning center.

“In addition to achieving the best possible medical outcome, our primary aim is to preserve or improve our patients’ independence and quality of life as far as possible,” says project lead Franziska Trudzinski, Deputy Head of the General Outpatient Department at Thoraxklinik Heidelberg and a researcher at the Translational Lung Research Center Heidelberg (TLRC).

Following the positive experience gained during the Innovation Fund project, PRiVENT is now being integrated into routine care together with project partner AOK Baden-Württemberg, one of the larges health insurance providers in Germany. The aim is to establish lasting collaboration between intensive care units and specialized weaning centers at an early stage of treatment.

Further information is available on the project website: https://wieder-selbst-atmen.de