The Hospital Organisation for the Management of Acute Respiratory Failure

Acute respiratory failure (ARF) is a severe medical condition associated with high mortality and prolonged hospital stay. The management of ARF may require an escalation therapy that varies from oxygen therapy to mechanical ventilation both invasive than non-invasive [1], hence the necessity of a team with specific skills and expertise. The integrated management of a patient with ARF or acute-on-chronic respiratory failure in an acute hospital setting involves different physicians with different abilities that are in different environments (emergency room, pneumology wards, medicine wards, respiratory intermediate care units (RICUs), and intensive care units (ICUs)) [2]. For these reasons, ARF managing requires specific hospital health care plans that realise an efficient integration of the hospital physicians. In this way, the caring for the patients with ARF shall be adequate, safe, and may allow optimising the available hospital resources. The plans may vary according to the hospital setting.