[Indications for intubation and mechanical ventilation in aspecific chronic obstructive bronchopneumopathy]

COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is characterized by recurrent exacerbations of respiratory failure, and mechanical ventilation appears often to be the only therapeutic tool available to avoid an imminent fatal outcome. However, when these patients are candidates for mechanical ventilation they are in the terminal phase of a very severe and chronic debilitating illness, and it is important to select patients with reasonable survival expectancy and an acceptable quality of life before initiating mechanical ventilation. We strongly advocate a non-dogmatic attitude based on the scientific data at present available in the literature.