Loading...
Treating patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) usually requires intubation and mechanical ventilation. Although high-flow oxygen can limit these interventions, similar benefits have not been seen with noninvasive positive-pressure ventilation (NPPV; JW Gen Med Aug 1 2015 and N Engl J Med 2015; 372:2185 and JAMA 2015; 313:2331). Often, NPPV fails because of patients' discomfort from tight-fitting masks and excessive air leak when high levels of pressure are applied.
In an attempt to provide NPPV with greater comfort and efficacy, investigators at the University of Chicago randomized 83 patients with ARDS (who had received traditional facemask NPPV for 8 hours) either to continue facemask NPPV or to switch to an NPPV helmet …