Noninvasive ventilation for acute exacerbations of asthma: A systematic review of the literature

Non‐invasive ventilation of patients with acute asthma

“…There was an acceptable conversion to invasive ventilation from patients initially treated with either medical therapy alone or with NIV among this high severity ICU admitted population. The rates of complications reported here are broadly similar to that reported elsewhere …”

“…Several reports have described the use of NIV in selected patients with respiratory failure due to exacerbations of asthma with promising results with respect to tolerability, LOS and complications . The use of NIV in moderate to severe exacerbations of asthma continues to be evaluated .…”

“…There is hope that a short trial of NIV may be a suitable option for carefully selected patients as it offers an approach to avoid intubation and invasive mechanical ventilation. Several studies suggest reduced mortality, hospital stay and lowered risk of complications with NIV . On the other hand, however, there is the risk of NIV failure in patients with severe cases of asthma .…”

Non‐invasive ventilation practices in children across Europe

“…A small RCT showed improvement in physiological parameters when comparing NIV plus standard treatment vs standard treatment alone, but the remainder of pediatric studies on this topic are mainly observational . Moreover, to date the role of NIV in acute asthma still remains unclear in adult patients . However, given the complexity of intubating and ventilating a patient with asthma, this clinical scenario might deserve an NIV trial under close monitoring.…”

“…23 Moreover, to date the role of NIV in acute asthma still remains unclear in adult patients. 24 Total face masks were frequently utilized to deliver bilevel NIV, but less than oronasal masks. Young children have often received NIV through adapted masks that had not been designed for them (eg nasal masks for adult patients used as oronasal) due to lack of specific material for this age group.…”