Key points
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Intensive care medicine has progressed considerably and improved survival after long-term ventilation has led to a greatly increased demand for intensive care facilities.
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Historically, intensive care units were led by anaesthetists. Increasingly, however, respiratory intensive care is supervised by respiratory physicians.
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Respiratory intermediate care units and ventilator-weaning units are likely to grow in size and number as the number of patients surviving prolonged ventilation increases and demands on conventional intensive care units grow.
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The technology of extracorporeal oxygenation has improved considerably and the development of an artificial lung has become a realistic prospect.