1347 Non Invasive Ventilation in Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the benefit of the Non Invasive Ventilation (NIV) in children admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Methods: We studied 22 children supported by NIV, aged 1 month to 15 years. The duration of the study was 4 years (January 2006- December 2009). The total number of admissions to ICU during this period was 759 (2,9% supported by NIV). The causes of the respiratory failure in these children supported by NIV were: chronic diseases-infection (n=11; 50%), neuromuscular diseases (n=4; 18,18%), renal transplantations-immunosuppression (n=3; 13,63%), leukemias (n=2; 9,09%), respiratory infections (n=2; 9,09%). We selected the Biphasic Ventilation mode (Bi-Vent) by facial mask, because our patients were in severe respiratory distress. The parameters in this mode were as follow: PIP: 10-16 cmH2O and PEEP 6-12 cmH2O. The mean duration of NIV was 4 days (3 hours to 14 days). Results: Facial mask was well tolerated and with no injuries from her use. Results showed that 19 patients (86,36%) recovered and 3 patients (13,63%) died because of their underlying disease and not from the respiratory failure. Two of our patients continued the NIV ventilation as home care treatment. Conclusions: NIV support of respiratory failure is a very useful tool in the pediatric intensivists' hands because it is good alternative to mechanical ventilation. It is well tolerated, reduces the need of sedation and the PICU stay in these patients.