Do not invade, just support

Since the first attempts for ventilation, there have been significant changes in terms of the size of devices, ventilation techniques, and technology. In time, invasive methods and huge devices were replaced by non-invasive methods and small and portable devices. Increased use of non-invasive methods was followed by enrichment of literature on the topic. This study aimed to determine the evolution of non-invasive ventilation (NIV) literature and predict future trends.

We used the Web of Science database for search. To include all papers, we searched multiple keywords, including "non-invasive ventilation, non-invasive positive pressure, continuous positive airway pressure, CPAP, NIV." All articles that meet the criteria published in the respiratory system, critical care medicine, anesthesiology, and emergency medicine fields during 1975-2020 were determined.

We made bibliometric analyses of 2847 original articles. However, the limited number of articles in the first years, published by year, exceeded a hundred with the new millennium and continues to increase. We predict that 233 and 334 papers will be published in 2021-2025, respectively. Most active countries were United States of America (576, 20.2 %), France (395, 13.8 %), Italy (293, 10.2 %). The most used keywords in NIV papers are non-invasive ventilation, continuous positive airway pressure and obstructive sleep apnea.

NIV technology and new devices are developing day by day. In addition, new areas of use have been defined by doctors. All these bring about new and different studies on NIV. We believe the present study that summarized the history and development of NIV literature will guide the authors who want to study this area (Tab. 4, Fig. 8, Ref. 19).