Open Ventilation Increases Exercise Capacity

Noninvasive open ventilation is associated with significant improvement in mean exercise duration among patients with chronic respiratory diseases.

Researchers at Saint Barnabas Medical Center (Livingston, NJ, USA) conducted a retrospective case series of 16 patients to evaluate the effect of noninvasive open ventilation in subjects with chronic respiratory disease in a pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) setting. Seven of the patients were assigned to use the Breathe Technologies (Irvine, CA, USA) noninvasive open ventilation system (NIOV), and nine patients served as a control group.


The results showed that at the end of 36 visits, the mean change in exercise time was significantly higher in the NIOV group (24.3 minutes) than in the control group (15.2 minutes), despite the fact that patients in NIOV group had more severe chronic lung conditions and poorer pulmonary function values at baseline. Additionally, the patients in the NIOV group were able to exercise approximately five minutes longer on average (42.3 compared to 37.8 minutes). The study was presented at the biennial COPD9USA meeting, held during June 2015 in Chicago (IL, USA).

“It is well-established that pulmonary rehabilitation programs have been conclusively linked to positive clinical outcomes in dyspnea reduction, increased exercise capacity, and reductions in hospitalization,” said lead author Joanne Scasserra, CRT, RPTF, of the department of respiratory care. “We believe that this technology has the potential to improve the current paradigm of respiratory care, through improved exercise outcomes, increased ambulation, and empowerment for patients to more fully engage in daily activities.”

The NIOV system is a ventilator intended to provide augmented tidal volume for patients suffering from chronic respiratory diseases who are capable of spontaneously breathing with minimum tidal volume of 3.5 cc/kg of predicted body weight. The system is designed for continuous applications such as during patient ambulation, physical therapy, occupational therapy, respiratory therapy, and other rehabilitation efforts in an institutional or home care environment. The device utilizes venturi principle technology to unload the ancillary respiratory muscles, thus reducing dyspnea, increasing oxygenation, and enhancing exercise endurance.

Related Links:
Saint Barnabas Medical Center
Breathe Technologies