Noninvasive ventilation (using a Bipap) 

(NIV) supports the patient’s breathing without the need for intubation or a tracheotomy. NIV delivers effective therapy with less risk of infection and improved survival in patients with respiratory failure.

Noninvasive ventilation supports the patient by:

  • delivering the right inspiratory and expiratory pressures or tidal volumes to support their individual ventilatory demand
  • enhancing alveolar minute ventilation
  • recruiting collapsed alveoli

 

The benefits of noninvasive ventilation
Where possible, noninvasive ventilation is gaining acceptance around the world as the preferred choice of treatment over invasive ventilation. Suitable for patients in the hospital or the home, noninvasive ventilation:

Makes day-to-day activities easier. Effective NIV therapy can help patients use more of their lung capacity. This in turn decreases the work of breathing, making routine activities easier.

Helps alleviate a range of symptoms. Morning headaches, daytime fatigue and shortness of breath are just some of the daytime symptoms that may occur due to low levels of oxygen or accumulated carbon dioxide. By helping to normalize CO2 and O2 levels in the body, noninvasive ventilation therapy helps relieve symptoms over time to improve the patient’s quality of life.

May reduce time in hospital and prevent disease from worsening. Patients treated with noninvasive ventilation therapy tend to spend less time in the hospital. By ensuring adequate ventilation, NIV patients may be able to avoid respiratory failure. Often prescribed for in-home treatment, NIV therapy is both convenient and effective.
Conditions treated with noninvasive ventilation

Your patient might have difficulty breathing and may need the help of a ventilator to breathe as a result of a greater medical condition, such as:

  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), with emphysema and/or bronchitis
  • Pneumonia
  • Acute lung injury
  • Acute respiratory distress syndrome
  • Asthma
  • Obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS)
  • Neuromuscular disease (NMD)
  • Chest wall disorders
  • Breathing impairment due to a spinal cord injury