Acute lung injury treatetl by nasal high frequency ven-tilation:clinical study

We carried out a prospective trial of nasal high fre-quency ventilation(NHFV) in 5 patients with acute lunginjury(ALI)due to severe trauma or sepsis to investigatethe role of NHFV. After NHFV there was a significantrise in PaO_2 and pH(P0.01 )and a gradual recovery ofrespiratory and pulse rates. All five patients survived andwas discharged. We conclude that NHFV may be used asan effective non-invasive ventilatorv methdfor treat-ing patients with ALI. NHFV can be used to correct hy-poxemia , improve ventilation and relieve dyspnea. Henceit may be considered as a regular ventilatory therapy forthe early treatment of ALI in order to lessen or avoid en-dotracheal intubation and tracheotomy. If the therapeuticeffectiveness is not significant with the use of NHFV,endotracheal intubation or tracheotomy, or other medesof ventilation can be employed.