Current respiratory care reports
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For patients experiencing acute respiratory failure due to a severe exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), noninvasive positive pressure ventilation has been shown to significantly reduce mortality and hospital length of stay compared to respiratory support with invasive mechanical ventilation. Despite continued improvements in the administration of noninvasive ventilation (NIV), refractory hypercapnia and hypercapnic acidosis continue to prevent its successful use in many patients. ⋯ While the use of ECCO2R has been studied in the treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), its use for acute hypercapnic respiratory during COPD exacerbations has not been evaluated until recently. This review will focus on literature published over the last year on the use of ECCO2R for removing extra CO2 in patients experiencing an acute exacerbation of COPD.