Guidance Value of Procalcitonin Detection in Selecting Switching Points for Sequential Therapy in Patients with Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Complicated by Respiratory Failure

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the guiding value of procalcitonin (PCT) for the selection of ventilation switching points in sequential mechanical ventilation for patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and respiratory failure, and to provide a reference for the optimisation of mechanical ventilation for patients with COPD and respiratory failure. METHODS: The study included 160 patients with an acute exacerbation of COPD complicated by respiratory failure who received sequential mechanical ventilation treatment. They were divided into two groups of 80 participants. The critical point of the pulmonary infection observation window (PIC) was used as the switching point for sequential mechanical ventilation treatment in the control group, and PCT clinical node was used as the switching point for sequential mechanical ventilation treatment in the observation group. The invasive ventilation time, non-invasive mechanical ventilation time, total mechanical ventilation time, intensive care unit (ICU) treatment time, complication rate and prognosis were compared for the two groups. RESULTS: (1) There was no significant difference in the respiratory rate, heart rate, arterial systolic pressure, arterial oxygen partial pressure, arterial carbon dioxide partial pressure or pH value between the two groups after 1 day of treatment, and (2) invasive mechanical ventilation time, non-invasive mechanical ventilation time, total mechanical ventilation time, ICU treatment time and the incidence of complications were significantly different in the two groups (P = 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Detecting PCT can guide the selection of ventilation switching points in sequential mechanical ventilation therapy for patients with COPD with respiratory failure in the acute exacerbation stage, effectively reduce the misevaluation of PIC switching points so that patients can obtain stable criteria for judgement and effectively improve the efficiency and safety of mechanical ventilation treatment for patients in the acute exacerbation stage.