Clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of patients with chronic hypercapnic respiratory failure in an intensive care unit

Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) is an evidence-based treatment for patients with hypercapnic respiratory failure, which is routinely used in intensive care units. To evaluate the effectiveness and outcome of treating hypercapnic respiratory failure with NIV. A retrospective analysis was performed on 321 hospitalized patients treated with NIV in the intensive care unit of the Pulmonology Clinic over a 4-year period (2020-2024). The mean age of the study group was 66.22 ± 12.06 years. Of these, 53.9% were men and 46.1% were women. In 151 (48.9%) patients, the cause of hypercapnic respiratory failure was COPD, in 95 (29.6%) it was obesity hypoventilation (OHS), in 58 (18.1%) it was overlap syndrome (OHS/COPD), in 11 (3.4%) it was chest wall deformity, and in three (0.9%) it was neuromuscular disease. Active or former smokers accounted for 61.4%. The ventilation mode used in 91.3% of cases was BIPAP. A statistically significant change in PaCO2 from 9.06 ± 1.64 kPa on admission to 7.09 ± 1.02 kPa on discharge (p