1. When is non-invasive ventilation indicated? There is strong evidence that non-invasive ventilation should be used for the initial management of acute respiratory failure in patients with exacerbated COPD, acute pulmonary edema, disorders with concomitant immunosuppression as well as to facilitate extubation in patients with COPD who have failed weaning attempts[1]. In postoperative patients,...

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is caused by mutations in the DMD gene resulting in an absence of dystrophin in neurons and muscle. Respiratory failure is the most common cause of mortality and previous studies have largely concentrated on diaphragmatic muscle necrosis and respiratory failure component. Here, we investigated the integrity of respiratory control mechanisms in the mdx mouse mod...

BACKGROUND Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) is common in neuromuscular diseases but its relationship to respiratory function is poorly defined. A study was undertaken to identify distinct patterns of SDB, to clarify the relationships between SDB and lung and respiratory muscle function, and to identify daytime predictors for SDB at its onset, for SDB with continuous hypercapnic hypoventilation,...

OBJECTIVE In obesity-hypoventilation-syndrome patients mechanically ventilated for hypercapnic respiratory failure we investigated the relationship between CO₂ response, body mass index, and plasma bicarbonate concentration, and the effect of acetazolamide on bicarbonate concentration and CO₂ response. METHODS CO₂ response tests and arterial blood gas analysis were performed in 25 patients re...

Exacerbations of COPD are the largest single cause of hospital admission with respiratory disease, and are frequently associated with impaired gas exchange and mortality rates of up to 14%. 1 Acute hypercapnic respiratory failure leads to admissions to intensive care units with a mortality rate of 59% at one year. 2 Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) is a well established and validated therapy for a...

BACKGROUND Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients who have had an episode of acute hypercapnic respiratory failure (AHRF) have a large 1-year risk of death or readmission. Acute non-invasive ventilation (NIV) has been shown to be an effective treatment of AHRF; and long-term NIV (LTNIV) has been shown to be an effective treatment of chronic respiratory failure in stable hypercapn...