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Nocturnal nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) therapy for chronic respiratory failure: long-term effects.

The development of positive pressure ventilation delivered through a nasal or face mask has greatly expanded the use of non-invasive ventilation in patients with chronic respiratory insufficiency, particularly during sleep. Disorders ranging from neurologic and neuromuscular, such as polio and muscular dystrophy, central alveolar hypoventilation, thoracic cage disorders such as kyphoscoliosis, and pulmonary disorders such as COPD, particularly of the blue-bloater type. The relative hypoventilation that is common to each condition is due to varying combinations of an inadequate respiratory drive and an increase in the work of breathing. Previous studies have shown sustained reversal of awake hypercapnia in patients with alveolar hypoventilation syndrome using nocturnal NIPPV. We analysed 10 consecutive patients with chronic respiratory insufficiency due to diverse aetiologies over a period of time using long-term domiciliary nocturnal NIPPV. Awake hypercapnia and hypoxaemia improved in nine patients over time and deteriorated in one patient. There was no significant change in pulmonary function apart from one patient with progressive muscular dystrophy who deteriorated. A considerable reduction in the need for subsequent hospital admission was noted in the group as a whole following institution of NIPPV. We conclude that nocturnal NIPPV improves awake gas exchange in patients with chronic respiratory failure.