Evaluation of non-invasive mechanical ventilation in patients admitted to the emergency department with respiratory distress

Introduction and Aims: Effectiveness of noninvasive mechanical ventilation will be investigated in patients admitted to the emergency department with respiratory distress with hypercapnic respiratory failure. Patients older 18 years old with clear consciousness regardless gender or diseases will be included the study, and patients under 18 years old or with closed consciousness will be excluded from the study. Material and Methods: This study will done prospectively and patients who admitted to Emergency Department of Cukurova University Medicine Faculty Hospital with hypercapnic respiratory failure older 18 years old and with clear consciousness will be included the study regardless of gender or diseases. Non-invasive mechanical ventilation will be applied to these patients and its efficacy will be examined. Non-invasive ventilation is more comfortable, easier and less costly compared to the invasive ventilation. The need for intensive care unit and duration of hospital stay is markedly lesser with this method. Results: A total 51 cases admitted to emergency department with respiratory distress and have hypercapnic respiratory failure in arterial blood gas included the study. On the admission, pCO2 values ranged from 45.8 to 91.7 and the average of the pCO2 values were 63.69 ± 11.13. After the NIV, pCO2 values decreased to 35,9-87,7 and the average of the pCO2 values decreased to 53,75±10,58. Length of hospital stay ranged from 0-18 days, with a mean of 4.18 ± 4.80 days. As a result, its showed that arterial pCO2 levels and the intensive care unit stay and hospital stay were significantly shorter. Conclusion: It is possible to shorten the length of hospital stay and mortality with non-invasive mechanical ventilation application in the patients with clear consciousness admitted to the emergency department with respiratory distress with hypercapnic respiratory failure. Keywords: Emergency Medicine, Hypercapnic Respiratory Failure, Noninvasive mechanical ventilation