NIV Prevents Post-operative Respiratory Failure After Bariatric Surgery

Postoperative non-invasive ventilation (NIV) has been proposed as an attractive strategy to reduce morbidity and improve postoperative outcomes in obese subjects undergoing general anesthesia. Bariatric patients present a peculiar negative feature; the increased body mass index (BMI) correlates with loss of perioperative functional residual capacity (FRC), expiratory reserve volume (ERV) and total lung capacity (TLC), decreased up to 50% of preoperative values. The aim of the current randomized trial is to evaluate the efficacy of NIV in post-anaesthesia care unit (PACU) in reducing post-extubation acute respiratory failure and the consequent admission in intensive care units (ICU) after BIBP in obese adult patients.