Original Article

Effects on Intensive Care Unit Clinical Course of Non-invasive Mechanical Ventilation in Inhalation Injury

  • Afife Ayla Kabalak
  • Ahmet Çınar Yastı

Meandros Med Dent J 2012;13(1):1-4

OBJECTIVE:

Inhalation injury is a form of acute lung damage and increases mortality. Intubation and invasive mechanic ventilatory (IMV) support is frequently needed in patients with advanced acute pulmonary failure, however, this procedure can lead to complications including tracheal stenosis, ventilator related pneumonia, and barotraumas. For minor / moderate damages, traditional medical support modalities are preferred, however, in cases where respiratory failure worsens; invasive approaches are the choice of the procedure. Recent studies showed decrease at the need to invasive modalities in patients with minor/moderate pulmonary failure by early term non-invasive mechanic ventilatory support (NIMV) application.

MATERIALS and METHODS:

In our study, traditional medical treatment modalities (MT) were compared with the addition of NIMV support to traditional modalities in their effects on the clinical course at the intensive care unit.

RESULTS:

NIMV compared with medical therapy, reduce the need for intubation and re-intubation and significantly reduced the healing process was observed (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION:

NIMV initiated at early phase is an effective and reliable choice of procedure to decrease the need to IMV, to prevention atelectasis and hypoxemia that oxygenation with mask is ineffective, and to improve burn wound healing time and clinical course.

Keywords: Inhalation injury, acute respiratory failure, noninvasive mechanical ventilation