RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To compare the one year survival after discharge from ICU of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) admitted for acute hypercapnic respiratory failure and who required mechanical ventilation. METHODS: Retrospective cohort study on 130 patients, 52 patients were treated with non-invasive ventilation (NIV) and 78 patients with conventional mechanical ventilation (CMV). RESULTS: In 73 patients the cause for respiratory failure could not be identified. Long-term survival was significantly better following NIV than with CMV (p=0.02 by log-rank testing), but the better prognosis associated with use of NIV was not found in patients with no documented cause for the respiratory failure. After adjusting for male gender, age>65 years, simplified acute physiology score II>35, prior long-term home oxygen therapy, treatment with steroids, FEV1<30% of predicted value, body-mass index<21 kg/m2, albumin level<30 g/L, right ventricular failure, ventilator-associated pneumonia and cause of respiratory failure, NIV remained independently associated with better outcomes (adjusted hazard ratio 0.55; 95% CI 0.31-0.97; p=0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that in COPD patients requiring mechanical ventilation and who survived after an ICU stay, the use of NIV is an independent factor associated with a better long-term survival, especially in those with a documented cause of respiratory failure.
