Is disinfection of mechanical ventilation tubing needed at home?

Introduction: Home mechanical ventilation is used to treat chronic alveolar hypoventilation. Maintenance protocols for home ventilation circuits (HVC) remain empirical and unproven. We have investigated (1) the cleanliness and sterility of the HVC used by home ventilated patients and (2) the efficiency of tubing cleaning and decontamination protocols recommended to them and used for 12 months or more.