Behind a Mask: Tricks, Pitfalls, and Prejudices for Noninvasive Ventilation

It is difficult to exactly date the beginning of mechanical ventilation, but there are no doubts that noninvasive ventilation (NW) was the first method of ventilatory support in clinical practice. The technique had a sudden increase in popularity, so that it is now considered, according to criteria of evidence-based medicine, the first-line treatment for an episode of acute respiratory failure in 4 pathologies (the Fabulous Four): COPD exacerbation, cardiogenic pulmonary edema, pulmonary infiltrates in immunocompromised patients, and in the weaning of extubated COPD patients. The so-called emerging applications are those for which the evidence has not achieved level A, mainly because the number or sample size of the published studies does not allow conclusive meta-analysis. These emerging applications are the post-surgical period, palliation of dyspnea, asthma attack, obesity hypoventilation syndrome, and to prevent extubation failure. Potentially "risky business" uses include for respiratory failure from pandemic diseases and ARDS, where probably the "secret" for success is early use. Healthcare is rich in evidence-based innovations, yet even when such innovations are implemented successfully in one location, they often disseminate slowly, if at all, so their clinical use remains limited and heterogeneous. The low rate of NW use in some hospitals relates to lack of knowledge about or experience with NIV, insufficient confidence in the technique, lack of NW equipment, and inadequate funding. But NW use has been increasing around the world, thanks partly to improved technologies. The skill and confidence of clinicians in NW have improved with time and experience, but NIV is and should remain a team effort, rather than the property of a single local "champion," because, overall, NW is beautiful!