| Summary: | Respiratory intermediate care units (RICU) may be divided into three types, depending on staffing, monitoring levels and patients’ severity. In this chapter, we clearly define the different typologies of RICU, including the change and expansion due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a heterogeneity of RICU in terms of number, structure and model which largely vary in the different countries and locally within different hospitals. According to the European Respiratory Society (ERS) task force there are three main RICU levels: respiratory intensive care unit, respiratory intermediate care unit and respiratory monitoring units. To define the levels of the RICU, the expertise of the team, the nurse workload, and the capability of providing invasive as well non-invasive respiratory support are the crucial factors. RICU allow for a more efficient and cost-effective approach to respiratory care without decreasing the quality of care or adversely affecting the outcome. Respiratory medicine units should make strong efforts to lead and include such facilities under their own space.
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