The past few decades have seen major impacts of different pandemics and mass casualty events on health resource use in terms of rising healthcare costs and increased mortality. In this context, the development of acute respiratory failure in patients requires the use of mechanical ventilation, either invasive or noninvasive. Recently, noninvasive ventilation (NIV) has proved to be a valuable strategy to reduce mortality rates in patients. This is the first book to describe the clinical indications of NIV in patients who have been hospitalized with high-risk infections as well as in the prehospital management of mass casualty incidents, including chemical or biological disasters and pandemics. Compiled by internationally respected experts, it offers comprehensive coverage of all aspects of noninvasive mechanical ventilation in public health emergencies, such as equipment needs and guidelines for health organizations. Considering recent events (SARS, H1N1 influenza pandemic), the book concludes with a critical review of current studies and future prospects for the use of NIV, offering a valuable resource for all practitioners managing mass casualty incidents and disasters.

Sleep breathing disorders represent one of the most important factors that influence prognosis in critical patients, directly as an initial cause or indirect process that deteriorates after admission to the Intensive Care Units. Despite this known association, there is little scientific information in key practical questions. For example, how does one approach and diagnose sleep breathing disorders in critical care medicine? How can one measure these associations in patients under non-invasive and invasive mechanical ventilation? During weaning from mechanical ventilation, extubation process, or prevention extubation failure, and finally, their association with short and long term prognosis in medical and postoperative critically patients. In this scenario, they are of great interest to understand these associations In this book, we analyze the rationale for diagnosis and treatment in critically mechanically ventilated, from non-invasive, invasive and weaning from mechanical ventilation process, treatments, protocols and follow-up patients' recommendations. The high prevalence of sleep breathing disorders, increment critically mechanical ventilated patients, new forms of invasive and non-invasive mechanical ventilation justify as multidisciplinary perspective this book, useful for pulmonologists, critical care and anesthesiologist.

This book comprehensively addresses the use of pulmonary function measurement for the evaluation, screening and timing of noninvasive mechanical ventilation (NIMV) from hospital to home care. To do so, it describes three clinical stages of NIMV support: before NIV, to detect early markers and determine whether NIV is appropriate; during NIV, to evaluate NIV response; and in long-term NIV support. Additionally, it assesses a range of complementary health care organizations (pulmonary function labs, pneumology wards, semi-intensive care units and home mechanical ventilation programs), techniques (chest physiotherapy/airway secretions, etc.) and applications. In closing, the book offers practical recommendations on how noninvasive ventilation and lung function measurement can improve outcomes and quality of life, making it a valuable resource for all specialists, e.g. intensivists and pneumologists, as well as anesthesiologists and therapists.

Noninvasive mechanical ventilation has managed to establish itself as the treatment option for a wide variety of causes of acute and chronic respiratory failure in different settings in hospital and home noninvasive mechanical ventilation. In the last decades, we have discovered its positive effects on gas exchange and symptoms such as dyspnea control, widely contrasted against endotracheal intubation. However, although this wide range of beneficial effects have been described, pathophysiology, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of noninvasive mechanical complications could not be forgotten for a correct application as they clearly affect patient outcome and mortality. Nowadays, there is a scarce number of publications analyzing noninvasive mechanical ventilation complications and this book is the first dedicated to its analysis. This book brings together a broad multidisciplinary vision of common and unusual complications, thus it serves as the original and essential scientific published reference on noninvasive mechanical ventilation complications. The present book has been structured to offer through its sections and chapters an exhaustive and in-depth analysis of noninvasive mechanical ventilation complications, mechanisms, direct or indirect factors determinants, key recommendations for the early diagnosis and treatment for most frequent applications from multidisciplinary perspective. Finally, we analyze noninvasive mechanical ventilation complications and how they impact in short- and long-term complications and mortality. The book concludes analyzing evidence in diagnosis, prevention and treatment. We believe that the readers of this book will find in it an essential reference for a correct application of noninvasive mechanical ventilation, and thus be able to improve results and prognosis. Only the precise knowledge of complications of noninvasive mechanical ventilation will allow us to achieve a proper application to success.

Idiopatic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) represents one of the most important devastating diseases that affects the lungs. Traditionally, the development of acute or chronic respiratory failure in disiorepresents an important dilemma for pulmonologists, intensivists, internists and anesthesiologists, due to the limited respiratory and functional reserve of these patients. In the last decade, we have witnessed a novel development of non-invasive mechanical ventilation and high flow oxygenation systems, representing an attractive option for patients compared to those patients with well-known poor results of invasive mechanical ventilation. In this book, we analyze all the options of non-invasive mechanical ventilation, indications, ventilatory modes, protocols, technology, equipment and applications in acute and chronic phase of patients with IPF, in addition to an exhaustive approach of all complementary techniques that optimize the application of these procedures. There are no previous descriptions or updates that incorporate this comprehensive analysis. This book, thus, serves as an updated scientific and practical reference for the knowledge of all spectrum respiratory failure presentations in idiopatic pulmonary fibrosis.

Non-invasive ventilation is the delivery of oxygen via a face mask and is used in the treatment of respiratory failure in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cardiogenic pulmonary oedema, and other respiratory conditions. Because patients rely upon ventilation systems to breathe, it is essential to monitor patients' respiratory function on an ongoing basis. However, this monitoring can prove to be difficult, particularly when patients receive ventilation treatment outside of the hospital and in their homes. As such, this book provides extensive detail concerning the monitoring of non-invasive mechanical ventilation systems in a variety of contexts.

This book analyses and describes the whole spectrum of technical elements related with non-invasive mechanical ventilators technologies, ventilator modes and complementary technologies for correct interpretation and clinical indications. With the aim of addressing different topics, authors have presented in each chapter and section a rigorous summary of non-invasive mechanical ventilators principles and technologies, as well as clinical indications in order to understand lung function. Moreover, this book also offers a comprehensive examination of how mechanical ventilators interact, for example, in case of asynchrony (diagnosis/treatment), and other tools. The patient-mechanical ventilator interactions sections have been planned from a physiological basis, as they include physical description of the ventilator elements and the non-invasive algorithms that allow adequate patient-ventilator interaction. We describe the correct interpretation and monitoring of positive pressure, airflow and volume waveforms, leakages impact and analysis and interface options and technology (facial mask, nasal mask and other new interface). From a practical point of view, authors describe non-invasive mechanical ventilators device selection, indications and evaluation in different clinical conditions, acute and chronic setting from hospital (emergency/critical care/anesthesiology/pneumology) and from home non-invasive mechanical ventilation. We consider this to be an original and exhaustive book crucial and practical for the correct understanding of mechanical ventilators principles of technology and science of non-invasive mechanical ventilation.

This book aims to highlight the importance of the development of health conditions and demand for the application of noninvasive mechanical ventilation (NIMV) outside the intensive care units (ICUs); the diversification of possible scenarios outside the ICUs; the need to establish references that consolidate this phenomenon and the healthcare organizations models. In the last decades the extension of the use of NIMV outside of the ICUs has led to the generation of protocols and to the creation of new in-hospital care models. In this field, the main determining factors are a better knowledge of technique, technological advancement, better monitoring capacity, the creation of multidisciplinary teams adequately trained in their application, and social and health events that have overloaded ICUs. All these elements have promoted the creation of these NIMV units outside ICUs. This new reality entails the need for clarification of concepts, recommendations, and analysis of how to plan NIMV. Although the literature that clearly determine the indications and aids on the use of NIMV is considerable, this volume, pointing out the diversity of different healthcare models to define how to organize NIMV outside the ICUs, shed a light and bring a clear benefit to the scientific community involved. The book is structured in eleven main sections analyzing the epidemiology and trends for NIMV healthcare models and determining factors for these models outside ICUs. The originality of the work, its clear clinical-practical impact and the multidisciplinary approach given by all healthcare professionals involved (intensivists, pneumologists, internal medicine and emergency medicine specialists, geriatricians, chest respiratory therapists, etc.) is very relevant for the thoroughness of the book.