Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the fourth leading cause of death, and the number of COPD-related hospitalizations is expected to increase. Noninvasive methods of ventilation (NIV) have been successful in decreasing the need for mechanical ventilation and reducing mortality. However, patients receiving NIV require continuous monitoring, which significantly increases nursing workload.

Lange and colleagues examined trends in NIV use with patients hospitalized for acute exacerbations of COPD between 2010 and 2019. They found

  • Use of NIV increased from 6.2% to 10.9% while use of mechanical ventilation decreased from 6.0% to 4.5%.

  • Hospital mortality rates decreased from 2.6% to 2.0%.

  • Mean hospital NIV caseloads increased from 207.3 to 360.4.

Given the resource-intensive nature of NIV, the authors suggest future work focus on determining optimal resource allocation to accommodate the expected growth of COPD-related hospitalizations.

See Article, pp 220–229

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