Others Breathing and respiratory health

What Is Non Invasive Ventilation And Why Is It Used

Nidhi Nangia
By Nidhi Nangia. Updated: March 10, 2022
What Is Non Invasive Ventilation And Why Is It Used

Non invasive ventilation or NIV is a ventilation modality used to support breathing without applying any surgical airway or intubation. It is a popular method for managing respiration in adults as well as children, both in ICUs and emergency departments of healthcare facilities. Invasive ventilation has side effects which NIV does not have, and it adds to the patient’s comfort as well. Here at OneHowTo.com, we are going to discuss what is non invasive ventilation and why is it used.

Contents

  1. What exactly is non invasive ventilation?
  2. Methods of NIV delivery
  3. When is non invasive ventilation used
  4. When NIV should not be used

What exactly is non invasive ventilation?

Non invasive ventilation means administering ventilatory support to a patient without the use of an invasive artificial airway, such as a tracheostomy tube or endotracheal tube. Application of NIV has increased excessively over the last 2 decades, and now, it has become an integral tool for the management of chronic and acute respiratory failure conditions.

Methods of NIV delivery

Non invasive ventilation is delivered via two methods, NPV or NIPPV. NPV is Negative Pressure Ventilation, and NIPPV is Non Invasive Positive Pressure Ventilation. In NIPPV, CPAP or continuous positive airway pressure and BiPAP or bilevel positive airway pressure is applied. Mild analgesia or sedation may be administered to increase the comfort level of the patient. If the patient has claustrophobia because of the facial mask, then anxiolytics may be required to relieve his condition.

What Is Non Invasive Ventilation And Why Is It Used - Methods of NIV delivery
Image: commons.wikimedia.org

When is non invasive ventilation used

In infants and newly born babies, the method of NIV is used for the purpose of weaning from a ventilator, preventing lung collapse, in cases of bronchiolitis, or when there is minimal need of respiratory support. In pediatric patients, NIV is delivered in cases of pneumonia, bronchiolitis, asthma, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, cystic fibrosis, impending respiratory muscle fatigue, and for chronic conditions like myopathies like Duchenne muscular dystrophy. In adult patients, non invasive ventilation is administered in cases of acute lung injury, neuromuscular disorders, bilaterial pneumonia, obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome, COPD with exacerbation, or acute congestive heart failure along with pulmonary edema.

Picutre: flickr.com

What Is Non Invasive Ventilation And Why Is It Used - When is non invasive ventilation used

When NIV should not be used

Non invasive ventilation should never be used in cases of respiratory arrest, unstable status of their cardio respiratory system, trauma or burns that involve the face, gastric, esophageal or facial surgery, apnoea, air leak syndrome and reduced consciousness. NIV should also be avoided if the patient is suffering from morbid obesity, extreme anxiety, copious secretions, deficient respiratory drive, etc.

This article is merely informative, oneHOWTO does not have the authority to prescribe any medical treatments or create a diagnosis. We invite you to visit your doctor if you have any type of condition or pain.

If you want to read similar articles to What Is Non Invasive Ventilation And Why Is It Used, we recommend you visit our Diseases & secondary effects category.

Write a comment

What did you think of this article?
1 comment
Rating:
Abrar Sheikh
What should be the number of fNI and Invasive ventilators in a hospital set up. is NIV is larger number than the Invasive ventilators.
Kindly help to understand this question.
OneHowTo Editor
Hi Abrar
To make sure we understand your question correctly, what exactl are you referring to when you say FNI? In addition, treatment does depend on the condition itself.
Image: commons.wikimedia.org
1 of 3
What Is Non Invasive Ventilation And Why Is It Used