Comfort of Patients Under Non Invasive Ventilation According to the Mask

Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) is a first-line treatment for many conditions encountered in the ICU. This technique requires training of heath professionals, appropriate equipment, optimisation of ventilator settings and good cooperation from the patient. Indeed, NIV failures lead ton invasive mechanical ventilation, thus increasing morbidity and mortality. These failures are favoured by the patient's poor tolerance to NIV. The success of the treatment depends greatly on the patient's compliance and comfort. The choice of the mask is therefore essential. There are different types of interface, such as the full-face helmet, the face mask, the nasal-oral mask or the nasal mask. The nasal-oral mask rmains the most commonly used interface. Recommendations emphasise the importance of choosing a mask that is the right size and best tolerated by the patient. Despite benefits of NIV, there are a number of potential complications: skin lesions at pressure points, particulaly at the nasal bridge, gastric distension, barotrauma, haemodynamic effects of positive presure ventilation, claustrophobia, anxiety, difficulty in speaking and eating, dry eyes, patient-ventilator asynchrony. Some of these complications depend on the type of mask used. a sub-nasal mask with a skirt that fits the nostrils and a dedicated port for the nasogastric tube has recently been introduced. To our knowledge, this interface has never been compared to commercially avaible nasal-oral masks.