RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Noninvasive mechanical ventilation in high-risk pulmonary infections: a clinical review JF European Respiratory Review JO EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY REVIEW FD European Respiratory Society SP 427 OP 438 DO 10.1183/09059180.00009413 VO 23 IS 134 A1 Antonio M. Esquinas A1 S. Egbert Pravinkumar A1 Raffaele Scala A1 Peter Gay A1 Arie Soroksky A1 Christophe Girault A1 Fang Han A1 David S. Hui A1 Peter J. Papadakos A1 Nicolino Ambrosino YR 2014 UL http://err.ersjournals.com/content/23/134/427.abstract AB The aim of this article was to review the role of noninvasive ventilation (NIV) in acute pulmonary infectious diseases, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), H1N1 and tuberculosis, and to assess the risk of disease transmission with the use of NIV from patients to healthcare workers. We performed a clinical review by searching Medline and EMBASE. These databases were searched for articles on “clinical trials” and “randomised controlled trials”. The keywords selected were non-invasive ventilation pulmonary infections, influenza-A (H1N1), SARS and tuberculosis. These terms were cross-referenced with the following keywords: health care workers, airborne infections, complications, intensive care unit and pandemic. The members of the International NIV Network examined the major results regarding NIV applications and SARS, H1N1 and tuberculosis. Cross-referencing mechanical ventilation with SARS yielded 76 studies, of which 10 studies involved the use of NIV and five were ultimately selected for inclusion in this review. Cross-referencing with H1N1 yielded 275 studies, of which 27 involved NIV. Of these, 22 were selected for review. Cross-referencing with tuberculosis yielded 285 studies, of which 15 involved NIV and from these seven were selected. In total 34 studies were selected for this review. NIV, when applied early in selected patients with SARS, H1N1 and acute pulmonary tuberculosis infections, can reverse respiratory failure. There are only a few reports of infectious disease transmission among healthcare workers.