Comparison of Noninvasive Positive Pressure Ventilation and Invasive Positive Pressure Ventilation in Patients with Acute Respiratory Failure

The use of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV)in the treatment of acute respiratory failure (ARF) has been supported by a number of randomised controlled trials. We conducted a controlled prospective randomised study to compare the efficacy of NPPV with the efficacy of invasive positive pressure ventilation (IPPV) in ARF patients whose conditions had not improved under aggressive medical therapy thus requiring mechanical ventilation (MV).