Expanding The Applications Of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure In The Treatment Of Acute Hypoxemic Non-Hypercapnic Respiratory Failure In The Emergency Department: Acute Asthma

PURPOSE: The application of NonInvasive ventilation (NIV) in Acute Hypoxaemic Respiratory Failure (AHRF) is still controversial. The pathophysiologic rationale supporting Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) in nonhypercapnic AHRF is well established: the ability to reexpand alveoli improving oxygenation, allowing the recruitment of underventilated alveoli, enhancing clearance of airway secretions; to get mechanical bronchodilation, lowering airway resistance, reducing the collapse of small airways; to contrast inspiratory treshold imposed by intrinsic Positive End-Expiratory Pressure (PEEP), reducing dynamic hyperinflation, elastic respiratory workload, inspiratory effort; to increase functional residual capacity, favorably shifting the lung on its compliance curve, reducing the work of breathing. We investigated the influence of CPAP as first-line intervention in managing Acute Asthma (AA) patients.