RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Short-Term Effect of Controlled Instead of Assisted Noninvasive Ventilation in Chronic Respiratory Failure Due to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease JF Respiratory Care FD American Association for Respiratory Care SP 1734 OP 1740 VO 52 IS 12 A1 Dominic Dellweg A1 Bernd Schonhofer A1 Peter M Haidl A1 Thomas Barchfeld A1 Markus D Wenzel A1 Patrick Appelhans A1 Dieter Kohler YR 2007 UL http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/52/12/1734.abstract AB BACKGROUND: Noninvasive positive-pressure ventilation (NPPV) unloads respiratory muscles. Spontaneous-breathing ventilation modes require patient effort to trigger the ventilator, whereas controlled modes potentially economize on patient triggering effort and thus achieve more complete respiratory muscle rest. Data on controlled NPPV have not been published to date. We hypothesize that controlled ventilation is feasible in patients with hypercapnic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. METHODS: We measured blood gas values, respiratory muscle strength, spontaneous breathing pattern, and lung function before and after a 3-month period of NPPV in 305 patients (213 male, mean ± SD age 61.3 ± 8.6 y). The subjects used a controlled NPPV mode when they could tolerate it. RESULTS: Ninety-one percent of the patients were able to adapt to a controlled NPPV mode. In those patients, daytime PCO2 decreased from 56.7 ± 7.5 mm Hg to 47.5 ± 6.6 mm Hg (p < 0.001) and PO2 increased from 49.2 ± 8.8 mm Hg to 56.2 ± 8.5 mm Hg (p < 0.001). Their mean maximum inspiratory pressure increased from 42.3 ± 16.9 cm H2O to 48.4 ± 18.0 cm H2O (p < 0.001). Their mean vital capacity increased from 1.89 ± 0.62 L to 1.99 ± 0.67 L (p = 0.004). And their spontaneous breathing pattern became less rapid and shallow. CONCLUSIONS: Controlled NPPV is feasible in patients with hypercapnic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. We observed improved blood gas values, lung function, and inspiratory muscle strength.