A randomized,prospective evaluation of non-invasive positive pressure ventilation for treatment of respiratory failure due to exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease / 中国实用内科杂志

Objective To determine the efficacy of Non-invasive positive pressure ventilation(NPPV)in the management of patients with respiratory failure due to an acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD).Methods Forty-two patients were included in the study.Of them,21 were randomly allocated to receive NPPV plus “standard care” and 21 to “standard care”.Both groups had similar characteristics upon their admission in the hospital.Results The use of NPPV significantly decreased the PaCO_2 level and respiratory rates,but significantly increased the PaO_2 level after 2 hours of treatment(P