TY - JOUR T1 - Clinical practice of non-invasive ventilation for COPD exacerbations JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J DO - 10.1183/13993003.congress-2021.PA3586 VL - 58 IS - suppl 65 SP - PA3586 AU - Judith Elshof AU - Anouschka Van Der Pouw AU - Els Fikkers AU - Petra Vos AU - Marieke Duiverman Y1 - 2021/09/05 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/58/suppl_65/PA3586.abstract N2 - Background: Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) is an effective treatment for patients developing acute respiratory failure due to an exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). However, the application of NIV in daily clinical practice is far from optimal; only 51% of the patients in which NIV was indicated received NIV (Roberts et al. Thorax 2013;68:1169-1171).Aim: We aim to analyse the adherence to guidelines concerning NIV in hospitalised COPD exacerbations.Methods: A retrospective study was performed at the University Medical Center Groningen, the Netherlands. All COPD patients with an exacerbation hospitalized between Dec. 2018 and Oct. 2020 were included.Results: 253 admissions were included consisting of 194 unique patients (mean age 68 years, mean FEV1 43±19 %pred.). In 238 cases (94%), an arterial blood gas analysis was performed at admission. In 35 of the 44 patients (80%) who met the inclusion criteria for NIV (pH < 7.35, pCO2 > 6 kPa) at admission, NIV was started. In 5 of the 9 patients (56%) where NIV did not get started while indicated, the reason for non-initiation was unknown. During hospitalization, 20 patients deteriorated and met the inclusion criteria for NIV. In 12 cases (60%), NIV was initiated. Most patients who did not get NIV treatment while it was indicated during hospitalization were on palliative care.Conclusions: This preliminary data shows better compliance to guidelines regarding NIV during hospitalized COPD exacerbation than previous literature but there is still room for improvement. Further studies should focus on the reasons why NIV did not get started while indicated, so that measures on how to effectively improve the clinical application of NIV can be taken.FootnotesCite this article as: European Respiratory Journal 2021; 58: Suppl. 65, PA3586.This abstract was presented at the 2021 ERS International Congress, in session “Prediction of exacerbations in patients with COPD”.This is an ERS International Congress abstract. No full-text version is available. Further material to accompany this abstract may be available at www.ers-education.org (ERS member access only). ER -