Aims : This session will provide state of the art information on topics that relate to the ventilatory and non-ventilatory management of patients with acute and chronic respiratory failure. Key topics include ventilatory and non-ventilatory management strategies in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) (particularly in terms of preventing ventilator-induced lung injury); weaning from mechanical ventilation (with particular focus on the importance of the timing of tracheostomy); the delivery of non-invasive respiratory support by non-invasive ventilation (NIV) and high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) in acute hypoxemic and hypercapnic respiratory failure; and the non-invasive ventilatory modalities that are available for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients at home, both when they are stable and after they have had an acute exacerbation with persistent hypercapnia.