[Noninvasive positive pressure ventilation in patients with COPD]

Abstract

There is sufficient clinical evidence to justify the use of long-term NPPV in selected patients with COPD who have daytime hypercapnia complicated by nocturnal hypoventilation that can be reversed with NPPV. In those patients, NPPV can improve their arterial blood gases and symptoms, reduce their hospital stay, and increase their QOL. In selected COPD patients with acute exacerbation, NPPV can decrease rates of tracheal intubation leading to reduced mortality. For maximal effectiveness, NPPV must be used early in the course of the respiratory failure (less severe levels of acidosis).