TY - JOUR T1 - NIV in acute hypoxic respiratory failure JF - Breathe JO - breathe SP - 51 LP - 56 DO - 10.1183/18106838.0601.051 VL - 6 IS - 1 AU - M. Ferrer Y1 - 2009/09/01 UR - http://breathe.ersjournals.com/content/6/1/51.abstract N2 - Educational aims This presentation will focus on the following issues: The efficacy of noninvasive ventilation (NIV) in the management of: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) Other causes of acute hypoxaemic respiratory failure (AHRF) The pathophysiological mechanisms of NIV in patients with AHRF. Summary Published randomised clinical trials suggest that patients with severe AHRF have in general a lower likelihood of needing tracheal intubation when NIV as a support for respiratory failure is added to the standard medical treatment. However, the effects of NIV on mortality are less evident, and the heterogeneity of the different published studies suggests that the efficacy may be different among different populations. Therefore, the results in the literature do not support the routine use of NIV in all patients with severe AHRF. ER -