La Clinica terapeutica
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La Clinica terapeutica · Jan 2012
ReviewRole of noninvasive ventilation in elderly patients with hypercapnic respiratory failure.
The effectiveness of non-invasive ventilation (NIV) in treating patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF) is showed by its ability to diminish the recurrence to endotracheal intubation (ETI), the occurrence of ETI-associated lung infections as well as related mortality. A specific issue is the outcome of NIV in patients referring to Emergency Department for ARF who receive a do-not-intubate (DNI) order because of too critical conditions or advanced age. ⋯ The positive outcome was confirmed by a subsequent 3-year observation, that demonstrated an overall survival rate of 54%. These findings clearly suggest to treat by NIV elderly patients also in presence of a DNI order.