The Use of Noninvasive Ventilation at the End of Life

Course overview

Noninvasive ventilation is a common modality provided in acute, long-term, and home care environments to provide respiratory support to patients with a variety of acute and chronic disease pathologies. Though NIV is used predominantly as a bridge to recovery in acute disease pathologies and as ongoing support in chronic disease pathologies, some clinicians advocate for the use of NIV for comfort measures at the end of life. This intermediate course provides a basis for the analysis of ethical dilemmas and debates the ethical arguments for and against the use of NIV at the end of life.