Critical care medicine
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Critical care medicine · Apr 1996
ReviewNoninvasive mechanical ventilation in patients with acute respiratory failure.
a) To describe the introduction of noninvasive means to provide positive-pressure ventilation in acute respiratory failure; b) to describe the physiologic response to noninvasive ventilation; c) to review the current published literature on using noninvasive ventilation in patients with acute hypercapnic and/or hypoxemic respiratory failure; d) to describe the technique of applying mask ventilation and current recommendations for using noninvasive ventilation and current recommendations for using noninvasive ventilation in patients with acute respiratory failure; and e) to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of noninvasive ventilation. ⋯ Noninvasive ventilation is a safe and effective means of ventilatory support for many patients with acute respiratory failure. Noninvasive ventilation is well tolerated, principally because it allows the patient to be in control and to continue verbal communication, and should be strongly considered in managing terminally ill patients with potentially reversible causes of respiratory failure. The duration of mechanical ventilation and its associated complications are significantly decreased in hypercapnic respiratory failure with noninvasive ventilation.