Introduction: The S³-NIV questionnaire was recently developed to provide clinicians with a simple and reliable tool to assess important domains such as respiratory symptoms, sleep quality and NIV-related side-effects in patients treated with home NIV.

Methods: The S³-NIV questionnaire was administered at hospital admission and hospital discharge in consecutive patients admitted for an acute episode of respiratory failure to test its responsiveness to changes in health status.

Results: 19 patients (8 males, median age 64yrs (interquartile range [IQR]: 55-76) were enrolled at admission. Median length of stay was 14 days (IQR: 7-22). Mean S³-NIV questionnaire score at admission was 4.83 (SD 1.59, 95% CI 4.07 to 5.60) and 6.08 (SD 1.77, 95% CI 5.22 to 6.94) at discharge with a mean difference of 1.24 (SD 1.09, 95% CI 0.71 to 1.77, p<0.001).

Conclusion: Our observation suggests that the S³-NIV questionnaire is responsive to recovery from severe episode of respiratory failure. Further studies to estimate MCID of the S³-NIV questionnaire are ongoing.