Mortality Risk Reduced Among COPD Patients Who Use Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure Machines

For people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and hypercapnia, home use of bilevel positive airway pressure (BPAP) machines was shown to lower the risks of death and intubations as well as result in fewer patients with hospital admissions, according to an AHRQ technology assessment published today in JAMA. BPAP machines are bedside devices that help push air into the lungs of people who have trouble breathing, such as people with sleep apnea. They utilize a technology known as noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV). Researchers who analyzed data on more than 51,000 COPD patients found that home mechanical ventilators, another NIPPV technology, also resulted in fewer patients with hospital admissions and intubations but did not reduce mortality risk. Neither technology was shown to have a significant impact on quality of life. Access the abstract.