Resp Care
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There is clinical interest in the use of heliox (helium-oxygen mixture) during noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV), but delivery of heliox with ventilators designed for NPPV has not been reported. We studied helium concentration ([He]) when an 80%:20% helium:oxygen mixture (heliox) was used with 5 NPPV ventilators (Knightstar, Quantum, BiPAP S/T-D30, Sullivan, and BiPAP Vision). ⋯ Heliox flow was the most important determinant of [He] when using heliox with NPPV. With heliox there was a potential for ventilator malfunction in some conditions. The clinical implications of these findings remain to be determined.