Chronic hypercapnia: Which mask is best for home use?
Respiratory physicians and rehabilitation specialists have trawled the literature to compare efficacy and patient adherence to oronasal and nasal masks
Patients with COPD or obesity hypoventilation syndrome who have non-invasive ventilation (NIV) at home are likely to fare equally well using an oronasal or a nasal mask, researchers say.
The international team of investigators carried out a systematic review of the literature from 1994, when the first journal articles on oronasal masks were published, to 2019.
They found 34 randomised controlled trials of home NIV in patients with COPD or obesity hyperventilation syndrome and used data from eight trials to conduct an individual patient meta-analysis.
Overall, 249 patients wore oronasal masks (86%) while the remaining 41 patients wore nasal masks, the French-led team reported in Thorax.
