Objective The aim of the study was to describe the characteristics of otherwise healthy children with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA; OSA-I) and children with OSA and obesity (OSA-II) treated with long term continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or noninvasive ventilation (NIV) in 2019 in France. Design National cross-sectional survey. Patients Children with OSA-I and OSA-II. Main outcome measures Initiation criteria, age, adherence, equipment and settings Results Patients with OSA-I and OSA-II represented 6% (n=84, 71% males) and 10% (n=144, 72% males) of the national cohort, respectively. The apnea-hypopnea index (63% vs 76%), alone or combined with nocturnal gas exchange (25% vs 21%, for OSA-II and OSA-I patients respectively) were used as initiation criteria of CPAP/NIV. OSA-II patients were older at CPAP/NIV initiation (mean age 11.0±4.0 vs 6.8±4.5 years, p<0.001) and were treated for a longer time (2.3±2.6 vs 1.3±1.5 years, p=0.008) than OSA-I patients. NIV was used in 6% of OSA-I patients and 13% of OSA-II patients (p=0.142). Nasal mask was the most used interface in both groups. Mean CPAP level was higher in OSA-II patients as compared to OSA-I patients (8.7±2.0 vs 7.7±2.4 cmH 2O, p=0.02). Objective compliance was comparable (mean use 6.8±2.6 vs 5.9±3.0 hours/night in OSA-I and OSA-II, respectively, p=0.054). Conclusion Six and 10% of children treated with long term CPAP/NIV in France in 2019 had OSA-I and OSA-II, respectively. Both groups were preferentially treated with CPAP and were comparable except for age, with OSA-II patients being older.

Rationale: Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) is the first-line therapy in infants with bronchiolitis-related acute respiratory failure. However, there is a lack of data regarding weaning from NIV in this setting. Working hypothesis: This study aims to evaluate a nurse-driven weaning protocol in this homogenous population. Study design: A retrospective single-center study with pre-versus-post comparative design in a tertiary center. Methodology: Data from all infants aged ≤ 6 months admitted to the PICU during 2 seasons with a clinical diagnosis of bronchiolitis and requiring any type of noninvasive ventilatory support on admission, were analyzed. Main results: In total, 187 infants (95 with standard and 92 with nurse-driven protocols) were included; the median age was 47 (IQR 24-75) and 31 days (19-58) in patients at baseline and after the protocol implementation, respectively. There was no difference in terms of weaning failure between the two periods (11 (12%) versus 14 (15%), p=0.46). At baseline, the ventilatory support duration was 70 hours (IQR 54-104) versus 56 hours (IQR 29-83) during the nurse-driven protocol period (p=0.29). The PICU and hospital lengths of stay did not differ between the two periods. No complication related to NIV occurred in the two periods. Conclusions: In patients with bronchiolitis supported by NIV, the nurse-driven weaning management - as opposed to physician-driven - was not associated with a significantly higher proportion of weaning failure cases.