Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Anne Riches.
The main objective when treating hypoxia (a deficiency of oxygen in the tissues) and hypercapnia (a high concentration of carbon dioxide in the blood) is to give sufficient oxygen to ensure that the patient is safe and his or her condition does not deteriorate. However, while giving too little oxygen can result in hypoxia, which can result in death, excessive oxygen therapy can also be dangerous for some patients.
The British Thoracic Society (BTS) guidelines for noninvasive ventilation (NIV) provide overwhelming evidence that NIV is effective in supporting patients with acute hypercapnic respiratory failure (AHRF) (BTS, 2002). AHRF, which causes a rise in carbon dioxide levels and a fall in pH, is common in patients presenting with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). NIV is also beneficial to patients with chest wall deformity and neuromuscular diseases.