Patient characteristics on index admission for noninvasive ventilation (NIV) set-up
| All patients | Respiratory failure | Symptom control only | p-value | |
| Subjects n | 40 | 23 | 17 | |
| Age at admission | 47.8±12.6 | 47.1±10.8 | 48.9±15.0 | 0.666 |
| Gender male | 20 (50) | 11 (48) | 9 (53) | 0.749 |
| PCO2 at admission kPa | 6.8±1.2 | 7.5±1.2 | 5.9±0.34 | <0.001 |
| PCO2 on discharge kPa | 5.9±0.8 | 6.1±1.0 | 5.7±0.40 | 0.095 |
| Hours of NIV | 7.8 (1.0–11.0) | 8.0 (1.0–11.0) | 7.0 (1.0–11.0) | 0.825 |
| IPAP cmH2O | 15.9±4.5 | 17.9±4.4 | 13.2±2.9 | <0.001 |
| EPAP cmH2O | 4.1±1.3 | 4.1±1.3 | 4.0±1.2 | 0.752 |
| PS (IPAP-EPAP) | 11.8±4.2 | 13.8±3.9 | 9.2±2.9 | <0.001 |
| FEV1 % pred | 67±19 | 62±20 | 70±20 | 0.106 |
| FVC % pred | 67±20 | 62±20 | 70±20 | 0.145 |
Data are presented as mean±sd, n (%) or median (range), unless otherwise stated. Values in bold represent statistically significant results. PCO2: carbon dioxide tension; IPAP: inspiratory positive airway pressure; EPAP: expiratory positive airway pressure; PS: pressure support; FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 s; FVC: forced vital capacity.