Physiological effects of high-intensity versus low-intensity noninvasive positive pressure ventilation in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND: High-intensity noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) is a novel ventilatory approach to maximally decreasing elevated arterial carbon dioxide tension (PaCO(2)) toward normocapnia with stepwise up-titration of pressure support. We tested whether high-intensity NPPV is more effective than low-intensity NPPV at decreasing PaCO(2), reducing inspiratory effort, alleviating dyspnoea, improving consciousness, and improving NPPV tolerance in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). METHODS: In this physiological, randomised controlled trial, we assigned 24 AECOPD patients to undergo either high-intensity NPPV (n = 12) or low-intensity NPPV (n = 12). The primary outcome was PaCO(2) 24 h after randomisation. Secondary outcomes included gas exchange other than PaCO(2) 24 h after randomisation, inspiratory effort, dyspnoea, consciousness, NPPV tolerance, patient–ventilator asynchrony, cardiac function, ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI), and NPPV-related adverse events. RESULTS: Inspiratory positive airway pressure 24 h after randomisation was significantly higher (28.0 [26.0–28.0] vs. 15.5 [15.0–17.5] cmH(2)O; p = 0.000) and NPPV duration within the first 24 h was significantly longer (21.8 ± 2.1 vs. 15.3 ± 4.7 h; p = 0.001) in the high-intensity NPPV group. PaCO(2) 24 h after randomisation decreased to 54.0 ± 11.6 mmHg in the high-intensity NPPV group but only decreased to 67.4 ± 10.6 mmHg in the low-intensity NPPV group (p = 0.008). Inspiratory oesophageal pressure swing, oesophageal pressure–time product (PTPes)/breath, PTPes/min, and PTPes/L were significantly lower in the high-intensity group. Accessory muscle use and dyspnoea score 24 h after randomisation were also significantly lower in that group. No significant between-groups differences were observed in consciousness, NPPV tolerance, patient–ventilator asynchrony, cardiac function, VILI, or NPPV-related adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: High-intensity NPPV is more effective than low-intensity NPPV at decreasing elevated PaCO(2), reducing inspiratory effort, and alleviating dyspnoea in AECOPD patients. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04044625; registered 5 August 2019). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13613-022-01018-4.