La ventilation en pression positive : de la ventilation manuelle aux ventilateurs modernes.

Abstract

Positive pressure ventilation was born in the 50's during the polio epidemic and in front of the imperious necessity to take care of a massive influx of patients with acute respiratory failure. Pragmatic technological and organizational new solutions, based on the need, were put in place, thus giving birth to the first intensive care unit (ICU). Subsequently, innovation was organized and industrialized, and ICU ventilators progressed from generation to generation, to cope with the incredible explosion of knowledge about ventilation.  From positive expiratory pressure to non-invasive ventilation, ventilators have been modernized, and now onboard multiple treatment possibilities that have transformed the prognosis of ICU patients. The recent COVID-19 pandemic reminded us that the story is definitively not over.  Innovative solutions that are more sober and flexible, but just as effective, are emerging to cover the ever-increasing needs.