To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: DG DISPATCH - ERS: Non-Invasive Ventilation Linked To Lower Risk Of Infection URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/137BE6.htm Doctor's Guide October 13, 1999
By Mark Pownall Special to DG News
MADRID, SPAIN -- October 13, 1999 -- Respiratory doctors are calling for more non-invasive ventilation of patients in intensive care because it appears to reduce the high risk of infection associated with traditional ventilator treatment.
In non-invasive ventilation (NIV), patients have a mask over their nose and mouth to help them breathe, rather than a tube stuck down their throat. This invasion with a potentially contaminated tube provides the ideal enviroment for pathogenic bacteria to grow and develop.
One of the largest studies on NIV to be conducted so far was reported to have found that this technique reduced mortality was by half and the need for intubation by 45 percent.
The study, by Dr. Mark Elliott from St. James University Hospital, in Leeds, England, involved 236 patients treated in non-specialised units. This study found that NIV not only reduced mortality and need for intubation but also improved the patients' general levels of health.
Results from an Italian multi-centre study found that patients on NIV had no lung infections, while there were infections in 28 percent of patients who were intubated. This trial has found fewer deaths among those patients on NIV treatment.
Preliminary results from Professor Jean-Francois Muir, from the University Hosptial, in Rouen, France, indicate fewer deaths and fewer admissions to hospital among patients given NIV. After urinary infections, ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is one of the most common nosocomial infections seen in intensive care units. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.