Important advances have been made over the past decade towards understanding the
optimal approach to ventilating patients with acute respiratory failure. Evidence now …

Emergency physicians commonly manage patients with acute respiratory failure who require
assisted mechanical ventilation. Several different modes of positive pressure mechanical …

Acute respiratory failure (ARF) refers to a severe deterioration in gas exchange that may
require mechanical ventilation for life support. Instituted when conservative treatment fails …

Noninvasive mechanical ventilatory techniques include the use of negative and positive
pressure ventilators. Negative pressure ventilators, such as the" iron lung", support …

Increased understanding of the mechanisms and effects of acute respiratory failure has not
been accompanied by more precise criteria by which the clinician can determine when …

The" old" conventional positive pressure ventilation remains the mainstay of ventilatory
support in patients with acute respiratory failure. Although some of the" new" ventilatory …

Patients require ventilatory assistance to reduce the PaCO2 Fig. 1) and/or to improve
oxygenation Fig. 2). If they can receive appropriate non-invasive ventilatory assistance …

Purpose: To review the clinical use of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation, including its
efficacy with acute and chronic forms of respiratory failure, its mechanism of action, and its …

Mechanical ventilation is a lifesaving treatment delivered to patients with a wide spectrum of
medical and surgical diseases. However, significant limitations of the clinical application of …

For editorial comment see page 1479 respiratory failure as a primaty therapy to avoid
endotracheal intubation and its associated complications. The topic has been somewhat …