Hypertension, myocardial infarct, respiratory failure, hypercapnia

INTRODUCTION: Noninvasive pressure support ventilation (NIPSV) and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) are both advocated in the treatment of cardiogenic pulmonary edema (CPE); however, the superiority of one technique over the other has not been clearly demonstrated. With regard to its physiological effects, we hypothesized that NIPSV would be better than CPAP in terms of clinical benefit. METHODS: In a prospective, randomized, controlled study performed in four emergency departments, 200 patients were assigned to CPAP (n = 101) or NIPSV (n = 99)...