RESUMO
Objective To evaluate the effects of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation on the severe cases of hand foot and mouth disease (HFMD).Methods Eighty-six cases of severe HFMD admitted to our hospital between Apr 2009 and Aug 2010 were divided into two groups based on the time when admitted to our hospital.Thirty-eight cases (group A,Apr to Jul,2009) received routine treatment and 48 cases (group B,Apr to Aug,2010) were ventilated with nasal continuous positive airway pressure based on routine treatment.The difference of the total efficiency was compared between two groups.Results Twenty-five out of 38 patients were cured,six showed improved signs,and seven showed no improvement in group A,of which the total efficiency was 81.5％.Forty out of 48 patients were cured,seven showed improved signs,and one showed no improvement in group B,of which the total efficiency was 97.9％.The clinical effect of group B was much better than group A and the difference was statistically significant ( x2 =6.71,P ＜0.05).Conclusion Early nasal continuous positive airway pressure has most valuable effect on HFMD and is helpful in preventing -HFMD from getting worse.