PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Kasper Ankjærgaartd
AU  - Sophia Maibom
AU  - Jon Torgny Wilcke
TI  - Home NIV for patients with stable COPD
DP  - 2012 Sep 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - P2080
VI  - 40
IP  - Suppl 56
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/Suppl_56/P2080.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/Suppl_56/P2080.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2012 Sep 01; 40
AB  - Background: Non invasive ventilation (NIV) is shown to be effective in the treatment of acute respiratory failure in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and as treatment at home in patients with chronic respiratory failure due to e.g. neuromuscular disease. Previous studies in patients with COPD have shown conflicting results of home NIV.Aim: Audit of home NIV treatment initiated due to repeated admissions with NIV treated acute hypercapnic respiratory failure (AHRF).Method: Retrospective study of acutely NIV treated patients in our dept. of lung medicine. Frequency and duration of hospital admissions respectively 12 and 6 months before and 6 months after the initiation of home NIV were compared.Results: Fig. shows a significant reduction in number of admissions 6 months after initiation of home NIV compared to 12 (avg 2,4 to 0,75 (p = 0,05)) and 6 months before initiation (avg. 4 to 0.75 (p = 0,0046))Conclusion: The study shows that home NIV is effective to reduce admissions with respiratory problems in a highly selected group of COPD patients with previous repeated AHRF and need of acute NIV treatment.