Non-Invasive Positive Airway Pressure for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Respiratory failure is characterized by low arterial blood oxygen (hypoxemia, PaO2) and/or high arterial carbon dioxide (hypercapnia, PaCO2 >45 mmHg). Chronic respiratory insufficiency or failure can occur with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), thoracic restrictive disorders, and hypoventilation syndromes, and may result in poor quality of life, sleepiness, hospital admission, intubation, and death. Non-invasive positive airway pressure ventilation (NPPV) including continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), bilevel positive airway pressure (BPAP), and home mechanical ventilators (HMV) that are pressure, rate and volume targeted are proposed for the treatment of COPD and other forms of chronic hypoventilation.