Respiratory muscle rest therapy.

This article discusses the role of respiratory muscle rest therapy in hypercapnic ventilatory failure and/or inspiratory muscle fatigue associated with primary lung disease, diseases of the chest wall, and neuromuscular diseases. Some animal data on the role of ventilatory muscle rest therapy in states characterized by a low cardiac output and arterial hypotension are also reviewed. Additionally, a method for quantitating the degree of respiratory muscle rest elicited by negative pressure ventilation devices is presented.